


There is Freedom Here

by chapperschap



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Female Reader, Lonely Reader, Older Eren Yeager, Reader is a Dog Person, Romance, Semi-Emotionless Eren, Slow Romance, Titan Shifting, Top Eren Yeager, Wealthy reader, and they were ROOMMATES
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:35:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 31,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27692884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chapperschap/pseuds/chapperschap
Summary: Eren's about to begin his plan that'll change everything. He was about to. Waking up on a luscious flowerbed wasn't apart of that plan.You don't know why you let the half-naked stranger stay the night. Maybe it's because you're that desperate for human interaction. You're really not sure.
Relationships: Eren Yeager/Reader, Season 4 Eren/Reader
Comments: 170
Kudos: 409





	1. Intruder

Eren sighed and ran his hand through his overgrown hair he had been ignoring for the last four years. Leaning back on the bed he had been accustomed to ever since the Scouts put him under arrest, he thought about how future events were going to unfold. Certainly nobody was going to approve of what would happen next. How could he get all of them to somehow agree? Or should he just give up on his friends and do what he thought was right? Eren stood up and walked towards the mirror that was hung above a sink he barely used.

Taking a look at his appearance, he noticed that he became quite the adult. How he looked was never a priority of his for obvious reasons, so he was surprised to see just how much taller he had gotten. Eren heard the loud noise of the basement door being opened and shut behind somebody. He peered through the cell bars and wasn't surprised to see Hange grinning at him.

"You've gotten so much older, Eren! Look at that unkempt hair! Do you do it for style, or are you seriously that—" Eren glared at her and she quieted down. Hange wasn't exactly afraid of him per se, but he had become much stronger over the last few years. His newfound confidence, unlike how he always seemed to cry as a teenager, was due to the countless amounts of experiments Hange conducted on him and continuous training. "Anyways." She cleared her throat and continued, "Take this supplement. It should make it easier to sleep at night. I've noticed that you're always tossing and turning during your slumber." Eren glanced at the pill and glass of water she was holding.

"I don't need a pill to sleep. I just need silence," he snapped. Hange sweatdropped, but insisted on handing the pill to him.

She reached through the bars and placed the pill on the rim of the sink, hoping it wouldn't roll off into the drain. "I'll leave it there, just in case you change your mind." Hange turned around with a frown on her face and marched up the stairs to rejoin Levi and their conversation about how Eren's mental health had been slowly deteriorating.

Eren stared at the pill for a moment before deciding that one night's sleep could help him form a better plan for the future. He threw it in his mouth and used his hands to cup some water from the sink he had just turned on. After swallowing the pill and water, Eren laid back on the bed and waited for sleep to consume him.

—

"I'm home," you said to nobody in particular. Letting out a heavy sigh, you threw your bookbag on the marble floor and quickly walked to the kitchen to feed your growling stomach. Rummaging through the cabinets, you realized that you needed to go grocery shopping. Even with them being gone for a year now, you always forgot to do tasks that they used to take care of, as normal parents did. You ended up grabbing a pack of Fruit Snacks, a snack that you'd never choose first, but since nothing else seemed relatively better, they'd have to do. Bubbles, a dog that your parents had gotten you for your fourteenth birthday, slept on the leather couch that had visible scratches on it ever since nobody bothered to tell him to get off of the expensive piece of furniture. Your parents were the ones that cared about it, not you. Taking a seat next to him, you grabbed the remote control and opened up Hulu to hopefully find a semi-decent show to take up your time when you're not working, sleeping, or eating.

Horror, Action, Thriller, Romance, Comedy. You sighed as you didn't seem in the mood for any sort of genre. A certain word piqued your interest, though. Anime. Nah, you thought. Even though Marco had been begging for you to watch some shows he had recommended—to be honest, you forgot the names—you still skipped past the genre and searched for something else.

Your future TV night was cut short as you heard a loud explosion outside. Bubbles immediately jumped off the couch, now awake, and ran to the glass sliding doors that could be opened to your garden. It wasn't raining outside, but whatever that was sounded incredibly like a lightning strike. Placing your unopened fruit snack on the coffee table, you stood up from the couch and followed in your dog's footsteps.

Bubbles was clawing at the glass doors, annoyingly high pitched barks escaping his mouth. "Sh!" Your corgi surprisingly obeyed and stopped barking. You slid open the door with a bit of a struggle as they were always—for some reason—unnaturally heavy. Bubbles ran towards somewhere in a flash and you groaned, knowing that you'd have to spend at least ten minutes finding out where he ended up because of how unnecessarily big your backyard was. Placing your bare foot on the lush green gas that was definitely not watered by you, you began to make your way towards wherever Bubbles had ran.

Peering a corner, you were shocked to see a shirtless man with long hair knocked out on top of your mother's favorite flowers. You gasped and ran towards the flower bed, quite angry that some trespasser had destroyed a thing of such importance. Right as you were about to nudge him with your foot, you decided it would be better to call the police. He had well-defined abs and looked that he could knock you out in one punch. It would be a much safer option to have the cops deal with him, even though they were not your favorite type of people.

You brought your phone out of your jean pocket and dialed the three numbers. Right as you were about to click the universal green button, Bubbles appeared out of nowhere and began barking at the man.

"Bubbles!" You shouted and then clamped a hand over your face, afraid that you had done just what you didn't want your dog to do, which was wake up the intruder. But his eyes were already fluttering open and you stared directly at him, fear now running through your veins. 

"I'm calling the police! Stay down on the ground!" You threatened and showed him your phone with the three numbers typed in at the top. The man showed no signs of fear, though, and continued to stare at you.

He sat up and looked around your garden. It was a lovely garden, due to how much time your mother had dedicated towards it, but it wasn't something that anybody should get mesmerized by. Quite confused, you lowered your phone. "Hello?" You waved your hand at him and his attention finally reached your face.

Some words escaped his mouth, but it sounded like gibberish. "Huh?" The man stood up abruptly and you backed off. Bubbles began barking at the man again and he flinched once he saw your tiny dog growling. 

He spoke more gibberish and then pointed towards your dog.

"Excuse me, sir, I don't know what language you're speaking, but I'm going to call the cops if you don't get out."

The man seemed even more confused because of your words. Was he not an intruder? Did he somehow get thrown over your fence? You quickly opened up the App Store on your phone and downloaded a translator app.

Once it was finished, you opened it up and signaled for him to speak. The man, obviously puzzled, spoke. A voice came out of your phone's speaker. "Where am I?" 

You furrowed your eyebrows and quickly glanced at the language it translated. German? 

You took a deep breath and spoke into the phone, now having it translate from English to German. "You're trespassing on my property. Get out before I call the police." The phone repeated what you had said, now in German.

"I'm not trespassing. I don't know where I am."

You rolled your eyes and let out a groan. "Okay, well I don't care. Just get out before I call the cops! I'm only giving you a chance because I don't like dealing with them." The man narrowed his eyes.

"What is this thing called? Why can it speak in different languages? Why does the structure behind you look so modern? Am I in Marley?"

You concluded that the man was certainly on drugs _._ "I'm calling the police." After the words left your mouth, the man frowned. He bit his hand and made a wound, blood now dripping on the grass floor. The man frowned and bit his hand again and you gagged at the amount of blood that was now falling onto the grass. "Stop! What are you doing?"

The man didn't respond but just stared at his hand in shock. He backed away from you and continued to look at his hand as if he was expecting something to happen. After a moment, he walked back towards you and ripped your phone out of your hand. He spoke into it with an aggressive tone.

"Where exactly are we?"

You sighed but decided to answer his question. "We are at my house, Miami, Florida."

"I don't know where that is. Is Florida a neighbor of Marley?" After speaking into the device he stared at his hand and frowned once again.

You replied, "Florida is in the United States. I don't know what Marley is. Are you on drugs?" He took the phone from your hand again and spoke into it loudly as if it was going to help with the translation.

"I'm not on drugs. Are you on drugs? How do you not know what Marley is? Fuck... that doesn't matter. What are the time and date?" The man tapped his foot on the green gas and you quickly checked the time on your phone.

"It's 5:41 PM, August 2nd."

The man sent you a bewilderedface, like you were the one that had just snorted some type of illegal substance. "That doesn't make sense. Why are you talking about a name? I asked about the date." He stayed quiet for a while but then continued to speak. "What year is it?"

You rolled your eyes. This had got to be a prank or something. But you had no friends, so who would be playing the prank on you? "It's 2020."

The man then began screaming—something that the translator couldn't pick up—and you awkwardly waited for him to stop his temper tantrum. Calling the police was becoming a better idea by the minute.

You retyped the numbers in, but the man quickly grabbed your phone and abducted it from your hands. You gasped and tried to retrieve it, now realizing that you should've called the police immediately. "Don't ask for the police. I need you to answer my questions."

"Give me my phone!" You attempted to steal it from his grasp, but he was taller than the average man and easily kept it away from you.

"I won't do anything bad. Just answer my questions."

You frowned and glanced back at your glass doors to see if you could dash towards them to make a quick escape. "I just said I won't do anything bad, are you slow?" Looking at the adult male up and down, you figured he could easily tackle and outsprint you, even with his injury.

"Ask ahead," you finally responded, leaning forward as he held your phone a good distance away from your mouth.

He nodded and you waited for the app to do its job. "Do you know what titans are? Do you know who Eren Jaeger is? Are you familiar with the Island of Paradis? Do you know who the Marleyan and Eldian races are?"

You furrowed your eyebrows and responded shortly with a "no".

The man sighed and ran his hand through his long hair. He muttered a couple of words to himself before speaking into the phone again. "Maybe this is a country on the opposite side of the word? We don't know exactly how large the outside world is."

You leaned into the phone and asked a question, "How did you get in my backyard?"

"I don't know. Before I got here I was lying on my bed and then I woke up on that flowerbed."

"Maybe you're experiencing some type of memory loss? I can call the police--not to arrest you--but so they can take you back home," you suggested. The man shook his head.

"No, without my powers I don't want to get involved with the police. You could just be a citizen that doesn't have any idea who I am but the government still does."

You rolled your eyes and allowed the man to continue pondering. The muggy Florida air began annoying your skin and you rubbed your arms. "Listen, dude, I don't know what your situation is, but I need you to like... leave."

The man frowned. "I can't. Trust me, I would like to return to Paradis, but I don't know where I am. Plus, the year is seriously confusing me. That animal, this device, and your clothing too. Why are you wearing baggy pants and a shirt with such a horrible drawing?" You glanced down at your Arctic Monkeys merchandise and frowned.

"So, basically you have no idea where you are, don't know how to get back, and you're unfamiliar with everything around you. You're stranded, basically," you concluded. "What's your name?"

"Eren Jaeger."

"Well, at least you know that. Now just because I didn't call the police immediately doesn't mean I'm going to help you out. Your situation is like seriously fucked." The man listened to the translator and stared at you, unimpressed. "Anyways, I hate being outside, because it's well, you know, Florida... actually I guess you wouldn't know, but I'm gonna head back inside. Feel free to chill in my backyard... I guess." You grabbed the phone and called for Bubbles to follow along. Opening the glass door, you glanced back at Eren who was now staring at his hand, a horrid expression on his face. He yelled out something then ran to you, who was halfway into closing the door behind you.

He knocked on the glass door and continued to speak German. You sighed and opened the door, bringing out your phone again. "Listen," the translation began, "can you give me a place to stay?"

\--

Eren was sitting on your couch with a frightening expression. With the phone in between both of you, you patted your dog as he vented. Why did you let him into your house? Well, he didn't seem dangerous and it also seemed like he really needed help. Besides, this was the first time you had hung out with somebody after what happened to your parents... if you could call this hanging out.

"What if you like shifted universes or something?" An idea outrageous as that would probably lead to him becoming upset, but when he stared at you, shocked, your face became pale.

"You could be right... maybe the Attack Titan gives its user the ability to shift into the future." Eren had brought up the Attack Titan around a billion times in your conversation. You didn't bother asking what it was, though.

"So what you're saying is that you've come from the past?" Eren nodded and leaned back on the couch. His wound from earlier had stopped bleeding, but his entire hand was blood-stained. "Also, why did you bite your hand earlier?"

Eren glanced at his hand and replied, "That's how I activate my ability. I'm supposed to have the ability to regenerate too, but I guess it doesn't work here."

You furrowed your eyebrows. "Are you sure you're not like an actor and confusing yourself with whatever hero you portrayed?"

He stared at you with an empty look before responding, "From what I've gathered, I guess that either I've shifted to another universe or that the Attack Titan lets me travel to the future. But if I were to be able to travel to the future, then you should at least know what a titan is, unless that part of history was forgotten."

"Titans are nowhere in our history books," you confirmed, "then again, shifting into different universes is impossible, so." You supposed that the man, Eren Jaeger, had hit his head and had given himself a concussion when he climbed over your gate.

"How are you sure?"

"Because... it's just not? For example, the ability to regenerate. Yeah, people can heal, but we can't grow back a chopped off arm."

"If you're not a titan shifter, but if you are, you can."

You rolled your eyes. "Yeah, whatever. I don't even know what that is." Eren ran his uninjured hand through his hair and sighed. You glanced down at his shirtless body and tried to peel your eyes away once you realized how attractive he actually was. "Do you need me to bandage your hand?"

Eren glanced at his hand. "Yeah."

You stood up from the couch and made your way over to the supply closet. You opened the door and were immediately greeted with dust that had built up since the last time anybody has opened the door. Coughing a bit, you covered your mouth and rummaged through the shelves to find gauze bandages. After finding a roll you made your way back to the couch to see Eren in the same place as before. He was staring at your dog that had taken a seat next to him.

"Here." You wrapped the gauze around his hand and used the clip to fasten it. Although your phone didn't pick up your words, he still allowed you to clip it.

Eren observed the bandaging for a minute. "You still use bandages? Also," he paused but continued shortly after, "you wrapped it pretty horribly."

"Well, I don't have much experience with wrapping up people who bite their hands intentionally." After the app translated it, even with the emotionless voice emitting from your speakers, he could tell that you were being snarky.

He sighed and fixed the wrapping as much as he could, but couldn't do a lot as he only had one hand to assist him. "So, what's your plan?"

"I don't know. I've never exactly been in this situation before."

"Well, what were you doing before you somehow got here?"

"Planning mass genocide."

"Haha." You let out a stale laugh. "Very funny. Well, you have no money, not even a full set of clothes, you don't speak English, you don't have a place to stay..."

"Would you let me stay with you?"

You choked on nothing in particular. "Why would I let a man who trespassed onto my property stay with me? I don't even know who you are!"

Eren nodded. "You don't have a husband, so me being here wouldn't be a problem. Also, I explained that I appeared in your backyard, I didn't trespass. I can't deny the fact that you don't know who I am, though."

You scoffed at his statement. "Why would I have a husband? I'm only twenty. And yeah sure, you didn't trespass." The last part of the sentence was sarcasm, but the robotic voice of the translator made it seem like you admitted to him not being an intruder.

"Marrying somebody by the age of twenty or younger wasn't too uncommon where I'm from. Maybe you have different standards?" Eren stared at Bubbles who had inched closer to him with a suspicious face.

"It sounds like you're from medieval times, but that wouldn't explain your jeans." You glanced at the black pair of jeans he was wearing. You also noticed the waistband of his underwear that had no logo on it but was plain white.

"I'm from the year 854."

You froze once you heard the translation. That would explain why he didn't know what an iPhone and corgi was. But, titans aren't in history books. But, he also didn't seem like he was lying. Eren was observing your dog still, unbothered by his own statement as if he said something completely normal. "So you're telling me you're from the past, where titans are real and you have the ability to shift into one? And now you somehow ended up in my backyard." He nodded. "How are you like so composed right now? If what you're saying is true, I would be like... I don't know... crying."

"I can't use my powers so there is nothing I can do. If I was 15 years old again, then I might've attacked you or something and tried to run away with my titan, but I'm a bit wiser now. What bothers me though, is the fact that I didn't see this coming."

"Well, obviously you wouldn't! Who expects to get thrown in a different reality?"

"I have--had the ability to see snippets of the future. I was sure of the future, but here I am."

You rubbed your eyes and glanced at the window that was not letting in sunlight, but moonlight. Your stomach rumbled and you grabbed the Fruit Snacks you had left on the coffee table. Ripping the package open, you glanced at Eren. You grabbed an orange-flavored gummy, your least favorite, and tossed it at him. Eren grabbed it with ease and stared at it.

"What is this?"

"A gummy. You're supposed to eat it."

Eren peered at the small treat cautiously before biting it in half. He made a disgusted face but swallowed it. "It tastes like a spoonful of sugar. Who would eat that?"

"I would, and a lot of things have too much sugar in them these days." Eren placed the half-bitten gummy on the table and rubbed his thumb on his jeans, trying to get rid of the sticky sensation. "Anyways, it's getting late and I have class tomorrow." You stood up and threw the last _spoonful of sugar_ , as he called it, in your mouth before throwing the wrapper in the trash.

"I have nowhere to go."

You groaned and leaned back on the cool marble counter. "Just like, sleep on the couch, I guess." 

"You're going to let me sleep here? How can I even trust you?" Your jaw dropped at his statement.

"How can _you_ trust _me_? Is that seriously what you should be asking right now?"

Eren didn't respond but just laid back on the couch.

—

You rummaged through your father's dresser, trying to find something that would fit the tall man. Your father was below six feet, and he definitely wasn't. Grabbing the largest pair of pajama pants you could find and a thin shirt, you concluded it was good enough. Walking downstairs, you could see Eren with his eyes shut, still lying down on the couch.

"There's a guest bathroom if you want to take a shower," you mentioned and placed the clothes on the table.

Eren said something in German, but you didn't have your phone out to translate it. You also assumed he didn't understand what you had just said, so you motioned for him to follow you. He stood up and stared at you as you made your way to the first-floor bathroom. You motioned for him to come for the second time and he finally understood. Opening the door to the bathroom, he poked his head inside before taking a step in. You rubbed under your armpits, trying to signal that he should take a shower. Then, you closed the door in front of you and made your way upstairs, silently praying that he wouldn't break anything.

You shut your door behind you and stared at your bed. Bubbles was already asleep on the fluffy comforter and you plopped down next to him, smiling. Happiness always seemed to fill you when you watched your dog do anything, even sleeping. You patted his head softly, making sure you wouldn't wake him up before staring at your glow in the dark stickers that you and your mother had slapped on the ceiling when you were a child. They barely worked, but you kept them up as a reminder of the memory.

Why had you let in a man that you barely knew? He could just be psychotic and somehow managed to escape an asylum. He could storm through your door right now and do things you'd rather not think about. You shuddered and quickly stood up to lock your door. If he wanted to steal something he would be out of luck, nothing of too much value was inside your house. The TV and family computer, sure, but you could just buy new ones. Your parents did leave a large amount of money left.

You sighed and decided that you'd be safe as long as he couldn't break down your door. Plus, with a phone that could call the police in seconds and Bubbles, you were sure that you'd wake up alive.


	2. The Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Eren visit the sea and he reveals a bit more of his past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for whoever read chapter 1 before 11/28, i changed Eren's first language from Japanese to German. i decided that my original plan for the story wasn't something i'd enjoy writing about when compared to my new one.

Bubbles would not stop barking. You sat up, strands of hair stuck to the side of your face due to your dried drool. You rubbed your eyes and saw Bubbles barking at you. "You need to pee?" It was in the middle of the night, and that was usually the only reason he woke you up. Sighing, you threw the comforter off your bare legs and hopped off the bed. Bubbles scratched at your door and you fiddled with the knob, wondering why it wouldn't open.

Oh, you had locked it, you chuckled to yourself and unlocked the door. Bubbles ran off downstairs right as you opened it. Taking your time as you walked down the steps, still half asleep, you saw Eren rummaging through your cabinets.

He stared at you while he had a piece of bread in his hand and you stared right back. You slowly walked away towards the glass door that Bubbles was already pawing at to let him out. You opened the door and let Bubbles go do his business. "Why aren't you..." You stopped yourself as you realized that he wouldn't be able to understand. You ran back upstairs to quickly grab your phone and returned.

"Why arent you asleep?" You repeated, this time into your phone.

"I don't sleep much, and being in a different universe doesn't help."

You chuckled a bit, still not being able to fully grasp the situation. You had a man who claimed he was from another universe where titans—whatever those were—existed. "So you have insomnia? A friend of mine, Marco, has it too." Before the app was even able to do its job, Eren's face darkened. He muttered something to himself and laughed. You scratched the back of your neck awkwardly. "Do you know what insomnia is?"

"I'm guessing it's the term for when somebody doesn't get sleep," Eren replied, taking a bite of his bread. You noticed that he was now in your father's pajamas. The pants were a bit tight and his ankles showed, but they were good enough.

"Yeah, it is. Also, could you explain what titans are?" You took a seat on the barstool and crossed your legs.

Eren sighed and leaned against the kitchen counter. "Well, to put it simply, they're huge naked people who eat humans. They don't have reproductive organs, though." You felt a chill go down your spine as you heard the translation. What type of world did he live in? "But we had walls that protected the cities from the titans and a branch of the military that would venture outside them. It was called the Scout Regiment. I was in it."

"Your world... seriously seems messed up. I can't believe you lived in fear of a monster like that your entire life."

Eren didn't reply, so you used the moment of silence to open the glass door and let Bubbles back inside. Bubbles ran inside and you walked back towards the counter. Realizing that he wasn't going to reply, you decided to end the conversation. "I'm going to head back to bed. Goodnight." As you were about to grab your phone, Eren began speaking again. You retracted your arm and waited for him to finish.

"When you wake up tomorrow, could you tell me more about this world?"

"Sure."

You took your phone off the counter and called for Bubbles. The two of you made your way upstairs and you let Bubbles into your room. He jumped on the bed and you laid down next to him.

For some reason, it was a bit harder for you to go back to sleep after that conversation.

—

You walked downstairs, dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Eren was on the couch, mumbling to himself. "Hey," you began, taking a seat across from him. You took out your phone from your pocket and opened the translating app. "Have you thought about what you're going to do?"

"I can't do anything at the moment." You sighed and pondered on whether he should stay an extra night. All he did was eat a slice of bread, use your first-floor shower that's been untouched for at least a year now, and sleep on your couch. Still, he could be dangerous. But, you already took that chance by letting him sleep in your house last night.

"I guess you could stay a bit longer," you admitted. You then heard the faint sound of his stomach growling. "Do you want anything to eat?" You stood up and made your way to the kitchen. Ever since you were little, you always had your personal chef cook for you or your parents. After letting go of your personal chef and your parent's death, you learned to cook for yourself.

"Just porridge and bread is fine." He surprisingly brought the phone for you and placed it on the kitchen counter.

You scoffed and brought out the cardboard box of waffles from your fridge. "We're in the year 2020 now, you don't have to force yourself to eat porridge."

Eren grunted and watched you drop four waffles into your four-slice toaster. "What is that metal box you just opened?"

"Oh, it's called a refrigerator. It keeps food cold or frozen," you explained, bringing out the butter and syrup to place it on the kitchen island.

"And what did you just put in that machine?"

"A waffle. It's good, just wait a bit, it needs to toast."

Right as the waffles popped up, you saw Eren flinch. You let a laugh escape your mouth as you plucked them from the toaster. Placing them on two separate plates, you pushed the bottle of syrup and butter towards him. "Syrup is sweet, so you might just want to put a small amount or none of it on." Eren pulled the plate towards him and uncapped the syrup. He poured a small drizzle on his first waffle and took a bite. "How is it?"

He swallowed the piece of waffle he had bitten off and shrugged. "It's... alright. Still not used to how sweet the food is here."

The two of you ate your breakfast in silence until your phone went off. You snatched it off the counter, annoyed at how loud the alarm was. You recognized the familiar tune, it told you that class was starting in an hour. "I have to go to college in a bit. Since you didn't do anything overnight, I'll trust that you won't do anything today either."

Eren nodded and finished the last piece of his waffle. "I'll give you some puzzles from the local newspaper...or something else so that you won't be completely bored."

—

By the time your professor finished giving your lecture, your hand had been cramping due to the amount of notes you had scribbled on in your notebook. Flicking your wrist to hopefully lessen the pain, you packed your bag and began making your way to the door. Right as you exited the door, somebody poked your stomach.

"F/n!" Marco greeted. You sighed and smiled softly as he pulled you into a hug. "I'm starving, do you want to grab something to eat?" Marco, literally the best friend you could have ever asked for, asked. He has been friends with you since tenth grade and helped you through the death of your parents.

"I don't know. I kind of have something to do at home," you replied, walking side by side towards the parking lot. Marco groaned and playfully bumped your hip.

"Come on! We didn't even hang out last weekend! What about the double date you promised to go on with me?" Marco had recently met somebody on Grindr and was too nervous to go by himself, so he asked you to tag along. Whoever his date was, was going to bring a straight friend of his.

"I'm not so sure I ever want to go on that. Just tell him it's not a double date anymore and go by yourself," you told him as you pushed the heavy double doors open, your hair being picked up by the slight breeze outside.

Marco sighed. "I just might have to do that. Jean is getting really impatient and says he wants to meet up soon. His friend is super cute though! I forgot his name, but he showed me a photo and if that man wasn't straight, I would've snagged him up quickly."

You glanced at him with an expression that told him you knew he was lying and brought out your keys from your bag. "Listen, Marco," you began and unlocked the Land Rover. "I'm sure whoever it is, is really cute, but I have an urgent situation I have to deal with at home." You opened the door and he rolled his eyes.

"That urgent situation better be a man!" He waved you off and you chuckled, shaking your head. 

Well technically, he was right.

As you drove home, you wondered what Eren had done to entertain himself. You hoped that he didn't go upstairs in your room, but from what you've gathered about his personality, you figured that he wouldn't care in the first place.

You exited the four-wheeler and unlocked the door, anxiety—for some reason—now pulsing through your veins. You accidentally slammed the door open and didn't see him anywhere in the kitchen or the living room, as you had a clear view from the front door. Silently cursing to yourself, you hurried upstairs.

He wasn't in your room, or your parent's room, or any other room that was on the second floor. You were sweating a bit, either due to the fact that you were running down the hallway back to the stairs or because you were scared shitless.

Back on the first floor, you ran towards your dad's office. Also empty. The following rooms were also empty. Every room you checked had nothing missing from it either. Did he just leave? You wiped some sweat off your forehead made your way to the couch to take a breather.

Except that Eren was napping on the couch. A sigh of relief escaped your mouth and you collapsed on the cushioned seat that faced it. Were you worried because you thought he had stolen something you hadn't noticed? Or because he could've still been in your house?

He had changed back into his jeans but kept the pajama top on. Bubbles was sleeping on top of his stomach, curled into a little ball. If Bubbles liked him, you guessed that he couldn't be too bad. As you watched Eren sleep, you noticed just how defined his muscles were. His arms were lean but perfectly sculpted and from what you had seen yesterday, he had a ten pack. Obviously, living in the year 854, he didn't have a variety of food and he also said he worked in the military. You were beginning to believe his story more and more with every sentence that escaped his mouth.

A notification from your phone startled you and you reached in your pocket to grab the device. You assumed it was from Marco and you were right. He had sent you something on Snapchat. As you were about to check what it was, Bubbles had hopped off of Eren and made his way towards you. You scratched his ears, but Eren sitting up on the couch made you direct your attention towards him.

"How was your nap?" You asked, your phone already open with the translating app. You noticed that it drained it's battery significantly more ever since Eren appeared.

"It was fine," he replied. He ran his hand through his hair and cracked his knuckles. "Right. Could you tell me about this world?"

"Oh, yeah. Well basically, we have a government—the country I live in has a representative democracy—that gives us a bunch of rules that we live by. Unlike your world, we don't have any monsters that run around eating people, everybody is human. We go to school and eventually go to college, where we study specific majors that help us get a future job. Usually, you get a job, marry somebody, move into a house, have kids. Then you grow old and die."

Eren nodded. "So your life is never on the line?"

You bit your lip. "Well, people get murdered by other people, but then you're thrown in jail. I'm assuming you also had that back then. We also have terrorist attacks, diseases, and car crashes. I forgot, do you know what cars are?"

"Yes, I do. People in Marley also had them... Basically, life in this world is rather peaceful. It reminds me of the outside world."

"Yeah... is the outside world the land outside the walls?" Eren nodded. "I thought you had titans, though."

Eren's jaw visibly clenched and he chuckled. "It's a bit of a long story, but I had just discovered four years ago that unlike what they told us in history class, life outside the walls was not extinct. People were living just like how you live now. Except for people of my race, the ones living inside the walls, were feared and discriminated against because they had the ability to turn into titans if they were given titan spinal fluid." You furrowed your eyebrows and rubbed your temple.

"Uh... I thought that the people inside the walls feared titans? And now you're saying they can turn into one?" Eren sighed.

"It's not exactly simple. It doesn't matter anyway, you'll never end up there."

You leaned back into the seat and said, "Your entire world sounds like something out of a show."

"I would kill the creator of the show if it was one."

You let out an awkward chuckle and rubbed your palms against your sweatpants nervously. Whether that was a joke or not, it made you uncomfortable.

"Anyways," you began, giving him a smile. "Do you want to take a drive around in my car?" Eren hesitated for a moment.

"I don't have anything else to do."

You both entered your Land Rover after a bit of hassle. You had to open the passenger door for him and basically buckle him up as he was lost the whole way. Letting out a sigh of relief, you stuck your key into the slot and started the car. He flinched at the noise and you let out a childish giggle that he stared at you for, a bit annoyed. You reversed out of your driveway and began heading down the street, not knowing where you were going.

Eren stared outside the window as you drove around. "Do you have anywhere specific in mind?"

You hoped that the phone in your cup holder would be able to hear your voice, and it did. It translated your words and he took a minute before answering. "The ocean."

"The beach? Good thing you ended up in Florida." You began heading towards Miami Beach, a rather painful experience that you'd usually want to avoid, but traffic wasn't too bad since it was a Monday afternoon. The dazzling lights of the city seemed to put him in a trance as you saw his eyes bounce from one building to the next.

"Society here is much more advanced than Marley," he commented.

At a red light, you exited out of the translating app and opened up Spotify. You turned on Bluetooth then clicked on the shuffle option. Turning up the volume a bit, you were glad to recognize the familiar tune of a song you enjoyed every time it played. "Is this a song?"

"Yup."

"Where is it coming from?"

"The speakers." You pointed towards the built-in speakers.

"But nobody is singing around us?"

You let out a sigh. "It's a bit complicated to explain but think of it like this. I basically saved the song onto my phone—the device that translates what I'm saying—and connected my phone to the speakers—the thing that the music comes out of." Eren stared at you with a confused face and you decided that you had tried your best to explain it.

Eren placed his hand over his right eye and laughed to himself. "If only I had been born in this world. What a fucked up life I've had." You could hear his voice crack and you worriedly glanced at him. You weren't able to make out his face because of his long hair blocking the view.

"Did the titans kill any of your friends?" You clenched the steering wheel as you asked the question, worried that he would get furious at you for asking such a thing.

"When I was around ten years old, titans had broken through one of the walls. One of them ended up eating my mother."

You froze and kept your eyes trained on the road ahead of you. "I-I'm sorry for your loss?" Your response came out more as a question, but the emotionless voice of the translator quickly covered it up for you.

Eren didn't respond but just continued to stare out into the night sky.

Finally, you reached the beach and found a decent parking spot. You motioned for him to get out of the car and he was surprisingly able to unbuckle and exit the car himself. You locked the vehicle and shoved your phone and keys in your sweatshirt pocket. The two of you walked down the sidewalk in the direction of the sea. A couple of people passed by, mostly young couples or groups of friends. Eren stared every time people walked by, mumbling to himself things you didn't understand.

You took your shoes off and pointed for him to do the same, only to realize he had never been wearing a pair. You chuckled to yourself and began walking on the warm sand, even though it was dark out. Both of you could hear the waves of the ocean and you began to feel relaxed. The familiar scent of the sea, the silence that surrounded you, and the comfort of the night all made you feel at peace.

You stopped just before the water, but Eren bent down to roll up his jeans to his knee and continued to walk further into the ocean. You brought out your phone and opened up the translation app. "Are you planning on going for a swim?" You didn't really care, but you'd rather not have water and sand get all over the inside of your car.

"No, I'm just dipping my feet in."

You hiked your sweatpants up to your knees and carefully stepped into the water as well. "Have you ever been to the ocean before?"

"Only once, but at the time I was a bit preoccupied." You didn't answer, but just nodded and joined him in staring out into the sea. "When I was younger, a friend of mine always spoke about the sea. He insisted that it was real, but I didn't believe him. He proved me wrong, though. When we finally got to the ocean, he was so happy to just see it. But, I took it for granted and was too focused on the enemies that lived further than the sea. I wish that I had smiled with him because now, I can't remember the last time I was genuinely happy."

You felt like a pound of bricks had been dumped on you as you heard his words. "When you get back, visit the sea with him again."

Eren glanced at you but didn't respond. You wondered if you had said something wrong.

—

"Here's a new pair of pajamas. You can use the shower like yesterday. If you want food you know where to find it." Eren collected the pajamas and settled them next to him on the couch. "Have you been thinking of ways to get back to your world?"

"A bit. I don't seem to get very far when I realize that I can't use my powers."

"Well, do you have any other powers other than turning into a titan?"

"Yes, but they're pretty useless here."

"Well," you began, unsure if you wanted to continue. "I guess you can stay here until you figure something out."

Eren furrowed his eyebrows. "Don't you have a limited amount of money?"

"Yeah, but it'll be fine. My parents died a year ago and left a lot of money behind."

"Thank you, then. And I'm sorry about your parents."

"It's.. fine. Yeah, I'm basically over it," you lied. Of course, you would never get over the death of your parents. You had spoken to them every day, said good morning and good night every day, smiled at them every day. Now they were gone. You chewed on your lip for a second. Maybe if you decided to go out to eat with them too, you wouldn't have to feel the pain of grief every time you woke up. 

You wondered if Eren overcame the death of his parents. He was ten years old, so it must've been around ten years ago if he was twenty like you thought. Did it still affect him on a daily basis or did he keep it in the back of his mind, locked away? 

"Nobody ever gets over the death of their parents." 

"You aren't?"

"I don't think I'll ever be." 


	3. Würstchen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Eren go out to eat, then you teach him how to use a laptop.

By the time you had made your way downstairs, you already found Eren doing push-ups on your marble floor. He was still in his pajamas from yesterday, but he had taken his top off. You guessed he usually spent a lot of his time without a shirt on. "Good morning," you greeted. Eren glanced behind him and stopped exercising. You pulled your phone out of your pocket to open the app that you've been using the most lately.

"Hey." He snatched his shirt off the table to put it on, but that didn't prevent you from getting a front-row seat to his abs. You blushed a bit and got flashbacks of being a hormonal teenager in highschool. How you'd become flustered every time anybody attractive would hover around you, whether it be in the lunch line or because of a group project. Eren was really attractive, you thought. Any woman would become flustered when given a nice view of his body. You had to admit that he had a dirty look to him because of the long hair that he didn't seem to comb, but he was still handsome nonetheless.

You steered your mind in a different direction, now going through your options for breakfast. You entered your kitchen, the cool tile floor meeting your bare feet. "Are you going to make breakfast again?"

"Well, today's a Tuesday, so I don't have class. If you want, we can go out to eat." You glimpsed at the clock on your microwave. It was around 10 AM.

"Interesting, only the people in Wall Sina, the innermost one, would be able to go out and eat breakfast. Also, you wake up absurdly late." You furrowed your eyebrows at his statement. 10 AM was actually a pretty good time for you to wake up when you didn't have school. "I've been up since... I think it would be 5 AM, that's the number I saw on the machine anyway."

"How do you not even have dark circles?" Your eyes raked over his face, trying to find any signs of sleep deprivation. However, you did notice that his lips were chapped. Eren disregarded your question and slid onto a barstool. "You should try to sleep more often. Not resting enough can actually shorten your lifespan."

"I don't need to worry about my lifespan." You furrowed your eyebrows but brushed off the question.

You opened a cabinet and grabbed a tall glass. Then, you pressed a button on the fridge and filled up the glass with water. Eren gaped at the fridge, perplexed. "The fridge can also provide water. How long has it been since you've drank any?"

"I was wondering where the water was. I thought this society still depended on wells with how hard I looked," he replied, dodging the last question. You raised your eyebrows at him and he sighed. "I don't drink much water anyway."

After the short exchange, you retreated back to your room to first get dressed for the day, going over the different types of food that you could please Eren with. Realizing that you should probably give him a new set of clothes, you made your way to your lifeless parent's bedroom. The dark red shade of the curtains, how the bed was always made, and the lack of any personal belongings always sent a chill down your spine as you took a step on the carpeted floor. Your parents were always private about their work-life but made sure to always pay attention and be there for you. Not knowing what they did for a living didn't trouble you, as long as there was somebody to tuck you in and sing you a soft lullaby, making sure to leave the room after you were asleep.

Sliding open the heavy closet door, you made your way to the rear of your parent's closet to find clothes that would fit Eren. Picking up a pair of dark blue jeans, because he didn't need another pair of black ones, and a plain white button-down shirt, you approved your choices and began retreating downstairs. Right as you were about to leave the room, you halted and quickly placed the clothes somewhere inside the closet. You cringed at what you were about to do, but the thought of having to wear the same underwear for days troubled you. Opening the drawer with a bit of caution, you quickly selected a pair of your father's underwear and tossed them where you had placed down the clothes you had chosen. Maybe you were being a bit dramatic, but who likes touching their dead father's old underwear?

"Here." You released the clothing and it fell on the couch easily. Eren regarded the clothing for a moment before running his hands over the soft, expensive material.

"I used to wear the same uniform for a week straight. I don't need whoever's clothes these are."

"Well, if you're going to be staying at my house until you figure out how to get back, you'll be listening to me."

Eren immediately brought his gaze to yours, a glint of hostility noticeable in his eyes. He clicked his tongue before snatching the clothes off the couch and walked to the bathroom. You let out a sigh of relief as you plopped onto the couch that Eren had been sleeping on. There seemed to be a dent in the couch, most likely due to a spot he had been sitting in constantly. The door to the guest bathroom unlocked a couple of minutes after it was shut, and you were surprised to see an almost completely different-looking man.

Eren had pulled his long, dark hair into a bun that rested on the lower back of his head and no longer wore the black jeans that you were sure smelled horrid. The shirt was a bit tight, showing off his slender figure and muscular biceps, but you weren't exactly complaining. "I like what you did with your hair," you praised, peeking at your phone to make sure it was still awake to translate what you had just said.

"Let's get going, shall we?" You smiled at him, quite excited for the day that was about to come. To be completely honest, you only experienced days like these with Marco. Marco, the one that kept in touch with you the most was the only one you had ever hung out with outside of college. Having your parents die your first year of college doesn't really shape you into becoming a social butterfly, but luckily Marco got paired with you in your English Language and Composition class. 

Both of you entered the car and you glanced at him to double-check that he was fine with buckling himself up. He appeared to do so without any struggle, so you started your car, connected your phone to the speakers, and began driving towards the restaurant that you believed would best fit to his liking. Eren distracted himself by staring outside of the car absentmindedly, glancing at you every so now and then. When curiosity got the best of him, he asked you where you were driving to.

As you were about to respond, you hesitated and smiled to yourself. Not even sure if he'd be too happy with being kept in the dark, you told him, "It's a secret."

Eren scoffed at your answer and crossed his arms. You felt like a mother, for some odd reason, and the smile on your face didn't disappear until he asked you another question. "Why are you letting me stay at your home?"

Honestly, you had no idea. Was it because you desperately needed human interaction after living alone, with one friend to keep you company every other weekend? Maybe you felt bad for the man. Or, you could be compared to the victims of Ted Bundy, who helped a monster who appeared to be attractive and injured. "I'm not sure."

Eren was unimpressed with your answer, but he let it slide. He didn't know why he accepted the offer to stay at your house either.

The eatery came into view and you began searching for a parking spot that wouldn't be too far away. After locating one, both of you stepped out of the Land Rover and you led him to your local sushi place.

Eren, walking a few steps behind you, was distracted by the string of restaurants, shops, and other buildings that surrounded him. The loud noise of other-worldly shaped cars bugged him, but they offered a perfect diversion from the dreadful reality back at home. He stared at the clothes that were two sizes bigger than what you needed and wondered why exactly you wore them. "Here," you said, drawing him out of his trance. You opened the door, a wind chime going off as you did so, and stepped into the restaurant with Eren right behind you.

The old, short German woman smiled at you as she recognized the familiar face. "F/n!" She pulled you into a hug and you laughed, a bit embarrassed that Eren was witnessing all of this. Aloisa noticed Eren and excitedly clapped her hands together. "Did you finally get a boyfriend?" Your cheeks became an even darker shade of crimson and you thanked yourself for not bringing out the translator immediately.

"N-No, he's just a friend. He actually speaks German," you explained. Aloisa raised her eyebrows and nudged you out of the way to greet the young man. She spoke to the man in German and he responded in his native tongue, a bit surprised that she could understand him. He furrowed his eyebrows at the old woman and she playfully slapped his chest but glanced at you to send you a wink. You prayed that she wasn't saying anything too mortifying.

"Go sit down." She shooed both of you away and the two of you made your way to a booth. Eren hadn't said anything to you but stayed quiet as he skimmed over the bilingual menu.

You nervously glanced up at Eren and when he caught you staring, you ducked under the menu. "Why are you acting strange?" The question caught you off guard and you chuckled awkwardly, slowly placing the menu down.

"No reason!" You quieted down, now feeling self-conscious. "I was just wondering what the two of you talked about."

Eren returned to reading the menu. "Nothing of importance, to be honest."

You clicked your tongue and distracted yourself by skimming the menu, trying to find the name of the dish you always ordered. A waitress walked up to your table and asked if you were ready. Bringing out your translator in a hurry, you realized Eren had spoken to the woman and she replied in the same language. She giggled at whatever he had said and then continued to write something on the notepad. You don't know why, but their little exchange bothered you.

"I'll have the _Wurst_ and some water." She nodded and wrote something on her mini notebook before leaving the table. You placed the phone in between the two of you. "What did you order?" 

"Water."

You gawked at him. "What? Why? You need to eat."

"You don't need to be spending your currency on me."

"Then you'd starve to death."

Eren hesitated. "The bread at your house is fine."

Chewing on your lip, you scanned the restaurant for the same waitress, but she was nowhere to be found. "I'll give you some of my sausage." Eren didn't respond but just fiddled with the edges of the paper napkins at the end of the table. You could still hear the chatter of nearby tables, unlike the one you were sitting at now, which was completely silent, only the slight shuffle of the paper napkins to be heard. Awkwardly fiddling with your thumbs, you racked your brain for icebreakers. "Could you... tell me about your life as a soldier?"

He stopped messing with the paper and stared at you for a minute. Strands of shorter dark hair escaped his bun, adding a messy look to it. For some random reason, you had the urge to redo his bun, just to get the feeling of what combing through his hair would be like.

"My branch of the military was called the Survey Corps. I had wanted to join it ever since I was a kid, no matter how many times they returned from their missions that ended up with more corpses than people with a heartbeat. Before I joined, titans had breached a wall and rookie squads were forced to face them. I was... overconfident but also a self-conscious fifteen year old. I charged in and a titan bit off one of my calves almost immediately."

Maybe you shouldn't have brought up what his military life consisted of. Now with a tense aura floating around you two, he continued speaking about his past. "The same friend who wanted to visit the sea was about to be killed by a titan. I somehow mustered up the courage and strength to save him, but in doing so I sacrificed myself. The titan swallowed me, but when I was floating around in his warm stomach, surrounded by former comrades who were breathing no less than an hour ago, I discovered my titan powers."

"You didn't know about your titan powers before then?"

"Nope." The waitress returned with two glasses of water and you thanked her with a smile and a nod. "After I discovered my titan powers, I was seen before a trial that discussed whether I was a threat or a savior to humanity. They ultimately decided that I was a savior." Eren leaned back on the booth and scoffed. "I guess they made the wrong choice."

You cocked your head. "Well, you ended up saving your comrades with your titan powers, right? So they were right."

"Yeah, but a lot of lives were sacrificed just to keep me alive."

Never had you ever met somebody who has been through as much trauma as the man sitting in front of you--and you were sure that what he told you wasn't even the half of it. Softly cursing to yourself, pity now overtaking the controls of your brain, you began, "Eren, you've obviously proved that you could do things with your power that nobody else could too. I'm sure that all the people that laid down their lives for you ended up being for the better." Sending him a small smile, Eren stared at you, an expression plastered on his face that was unreadable.

"I think this is a punishment from Ymir or something."

"What?"

"You say such naive and positive things. How are you not sure that I would use my powers to kill the majority of the world's population?"

Unsure of how to answer such an unusual and messed up question, you scratched the back of your neck. "I'm sure if you were the type of man to do that, I would notice it."

Eren scoffed and as he was about to reply, the waitress came with the sausage surrounded by a bun. "Here you go."

"Thank you."

"No problem!" After she left the table, you split the sausage in half.

"Sorry, what were you going to say?"

"Nothing." He brought his half of the hot dog to his mouth and bit into it. You eyed him before taking a bite of your own, quite excited for his reaction. "This... isn't bad."

"I knew you would like this place! The sausage isn't sweet but has a lot of flavor. This is like one of the only German restaurants in Miami, but I visit it often."

Eren nodded and finished his half of the sausage. Only on your first bite in, you chuckled. "I'll order another."

"No," he answered almost immediately.

"They're like five bucks." Eren quirked his eyebrow. "They're cheap, Eren. I'm ordering another regardless of what you say."

"Fine."

\--

"What's up?"

"Did you have class today?"

"Nope," you replied, raising the TV remote to browse through the channels. "Why do you ask?"

Marco let out a disappointed sigh before answering, "Shit, I thought you were free tomorrow, not today. Can we still hang out tomorrow after your class? It ends at--"

"F--"

"Wait let me guess! Four-thirty."

"Five, close enough though. And I hope you're not trying to get me to meet up with Jean and his friend." Eren entered the living room, his damp hair pulled into a messy bun, similar to the one he wore this morning. He took a seat on the opposite side of the couch and stared at the television.

"Maybe, maybe not."

"You know I'm not interested in dating, Marco! C'mon, how many times have we been over this?" Eren redirected his attention towards you and you sent him a small, awkward smile before angling yourself away from him.

"He's so hot though, F/n, just please trust me! Like right when he walks through the bar door you'll thank me for introducing him to you!" Marco's whiny tone made you roll your eyes and you sighed, actually contemplating on whether going would be a good idea or not. Eren would be alone for almost the entire day and you weren't sure how much you liked him being in your house without you for such a lengthy time. 

Eren said something to you, but since you didn't have the translating app out, you couldn't understand. "Anyway Marco, I'll have to raincheck on that."

Marco groaned. "You had a boyfriend in high school, right? Was he just that bad at fucking and you never want to hang around a straight male again or..."

"He wasn't that bad, just--we were inexperienced!" A blush painted its way onto your face and you pulled your knees up to your chest. You worriedly glanced at Eren, afraid that he could hear the conversation, a small side of you now having some crazy theory that he did understand English but just kept it a secret.

"I bet he had a small dick."

"Okay, Marco. I'm hanging up. I promise that we'll hang out on the weekend."

"Sure, sure. Bye, love you."

"Love you too."

A heavy sigh escaped your lips and you opened the translating app so Eren could finally tell you what he had been meaning to say.

"You're blushing."

The statement caught you off guard and you almost dropped your phone on the wooden floor. "I guess... My friend said something weird over the phone."

"I wanted to change the channel, but you were holding the remote." You stared at the TV remote in your lap.

"You know how to use it?" You picked up the remote and handed it to him, assuming that he already did know how to operate it. Eren grabbed the remote and pressed down on a button and the channel did in fact change. "I don't remember teaching you that."

"I'm not an animal. I saw you using the remote and just mimicked your actions."

You waved him off and sighed. "Alright, I got it. Anyway, this weekend my friend will either come over or I'll go to his house. You can stay here and cook up some idea while I'm gone."

"An idea for what?"

"An idea that lets you get back home."

"Right. Do you have a library here?" You shook your head and stood up to grab your laptop that sat inside your bag for college.

You placed the device on the table, in front of both of you. "Well, it'll be hard to use but this lets you search up anything you want. I'll teach you the basics right now if you want." Pulling up the screen from its shut position, Eren nodded.

"A device that can search up anything? Are you serious?"

"Yup. It's kind of crazy."

"Like... if I wanted to search up what a word meant?"

"Yeah, it'll tell you the definition."

"And if I wanted to search up something like what a titan was?"

"Well, you'll see other things that are related to the word "titan,", but I don't think big, naked humans would pop up."

You double-clicked on the Google Chrome icon and the search engine appeared on the screen. "Do you know how to write?"

"Yes."

"Do you recognize these symbols?" Pointing towards the letters on your keyboard, Eren moved closer to get a better view.

"Yeah."

"That makes this ten times easier. Okay, just type in whatever word you want in this white bar and everything about it will show up." Eren pulled the laptop closer and pressed on the keys with his pointer fingers. After he finished writing the word, he stared at the screen. "You need to click this," you pressed down on the "enter," button and continued, "button for the search to go through."

He did as he was told and after a second results for "titan," appeared on the screen. "Titan is the same thing in German as in English?"

"Guess so."

"Listen, I'm telling the truth. Titans don't exist in this world. You're better off spending your time researching something about shifting universes." You spammed the backspace key. "Oh, here is how you delete the letters." Eren typed in new words and you beamed. He really was a fast learner.

"Alright, I'll bring the charger out here tomorrow and tell you more about it." You glanced at the time on your phone with a yawn. "I have class tomorrow, so I can't stay out here with you. Tomorrow we can do something else if you want."

"No. I'm grateful you allowed me to stay, but I just want to get back as fast as possible."

You pursed your lips. He was right, you didn't have to hang out with him as if he was your roommate. Eren was a man who popped up out of nowhere and for some reason, you just accepted that. He didn't want to stay here, he had friends and family to get back to in his own world. Eating lunch today would probably just be a one-time thing. "Right. I'll just help you get home quickly, nothing else." Eren stared at your back as you made your way upstairs.

For some reason, guilt was pooling at the bottom of his stomach. Even when he couldn't understand your language, he understood the tone of your voice. Obviously, you were upset by what he had said, but he couldn't understand why. In fact, he didn't understand anything right now. Why he was somehow in a different reality, why you let him into your home, why you were even taking him out to places, and now, why he regretted saying those words to you. A collection of unanswered questions picked at his brain.

For now, all he could do was try to solve the ones that he could. And hopefully, this weird device would lead him to the answer he's been searching for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, i did not realize that i haven't uploaded in almost twenty days. it doesn't feel like it's been that long, or maybe I'm reading it incorrectly. anyway, i'll be updating (or try to update) every Friday night. Saturday if i spent Friday playing video games and forgot to publish a chapter. (next chapter = dec 18)
> 
> how do you guys like the new OP and ED? personally, i love them. at first i was wary of the OP, but after reading the lyrics, something just clicked. i also can't wait to see hobo eren animated! today i spent at least an hour on pintrest just pinning art that i loved. i have one that i'd love to share, but i can't find the credits.
> 
> thank you for reading!!
> 
> edit: just realized you had to manually input when you uploaded the chapter... enjoy the early update then! i’m sorry omg time is literally a blur... the weeks go by so fast so i didn’t realize that i had literally updated 5 days ago.
> 
> edit 2: NVM IM LITERALLY SO DUMB I DONT KNOW HOW TO USE PINTREST SO I DIDNT REALIZE... okay i commented the fanart. i thought somebody just screenshotted and reposted it w/o creds but like it links you to the artists twitter.


	4. The Childish Grin of a Fifteen-Year-Old Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco wants to take you on that double-date and you talk to Eren a bit more.

Your professor finished his lecture for the day and basically told all of you to get out. All the students left the room with a chuckle on their faces, most likely due to your professor's nature. Pulling out your earbuds and pushing the door open, you felt somebody poke your stomach. You jolted and immediately searched for the perpetrator. A sigh of relief escaped your mouth once you realized it was just Marco.

He was dressed in fairly casual clothing, a pair of dark grey jeans on along with a white button-up, but the fact that he wasn't wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt as he usually did made you quirk an eyebrow. Hopefully, he didn't plan on going anywhere and bring you along. You were wearing what he wore on a daily basis.

"You actually scared me for a second there." Marco smiled and pulled you into a hug. You could smell the heavy cologne he had sprayed on and immediately knew what he was up to. After he let you go, he stared at you with an all-knowing face. "N—"

"Yes. Yes. You're coming with me, whether you like it or not."

"My car will still be on campus."

"Perfect, because I took the metro-rail to school. If you don't take me, I'll end up standing Jean up. You could ruin a relationship that might get me married if you don't come."

You threw your head back, but in the end, gave up rather easily. "Fine, but I'm only agreeing because of other reasons. You depending on me for a ride was a stupid idea. If I actually needed to go somewhere you'd be screwed." Marco clapped his hands together and snatched your hand to basically drag you down the hallway. You were agreeing because despite being so reluctant with going on this date, you were a bit curious as to who the mystery man was. Not your date—but Jean.

Fumbling through your jacket pocket to grab the keys as students roaming the hallway stared at you, either annoyed at such childish behavior in a professional setting or seemingly dead inside, you awkwardly tried to keep your eyes trained on the ground. A light shade of red was dusting your cheeks, unwanted attention now being catered directly to you. "Marco, slow down." He glanced back and let go of your arm, sending you a forgiving smile.

"Sorry, sorry. I'm just so excited. You'll finally get to meet Jean and his friend!" Marco slowed his pace and you began walking side by side.

"Yes, I'm super excited too," you replied, sarcasm dripping with every word. Honestly, you'd be too worried about Eren to actually enjoy the double date. Although you were sure he wouldn't damage your property in any way, you couldn't help but wonder how you'd feel if he fled. You had been roommates—you still couldn't use the term "friends," yet—for only a couple of days, but the feeling of waking up, knowing somebody would be there to say good morning was already warming up to you. Maybe the reason you let a stranger stay at your house was that you were so desperate for human interaction. Marco was the only friend you had and although he hung out with you quite a bit, sometimes you wished you had someone to talk to on a Saturday night when he wasn't able to. Even better, somebody to cuddle with while binge-watching your favorite show together. Perhaps even a man that would kiss your tears away when you began to cry about the death of your parents.

Smiling to yourself unknowingly, Marco opened the door to the parking lot. Unlocking the Land Rover, the two of you walked directly toward it. Both of you hopped in and he told you the address of the restaurant the four of you would be eating at. "Jean said his friend likes cheeseburgers, so we're going to an American place."

You furrowed your eyebrows. "And we're going there just because of his friend?"

"He wouldn't go otherwise." You scoffed and pulled out of the parking lot. Already having a bad impression of whoever he was, you just knew that this wasn't going to go well. By well, you meant actually getting the guy's number and going on a separate date. You figured that you'd just barely talk to the guy and basically spectate Marco and Jean's date quietly.

"What's his name?" Marco connected his phone to the Bluetooth speaker.

Marco mumbled something to himself. "Okay, shit. Jean told me on the phone but I forgot. It's fine, I'm sure he'll introduce himself." You sighed but continued to give your full attention to the road ahead of you. Driving was always something you didn't seem to care about until the police told you how your parents passed. Now, the most you could do was listen to music and have a conversation. Before you would eat, dance, and even glance at your phone while going seventy miles per hour on the highway. A shiver was sent down your spine and you shuddered.

Marco chose a song and turned the small knob on the radio to raise the volume. You didn't recognize the name of the song that was playing, but it was overall nice so you had no complaints.

While the music flowed through the air, you drove to Cracked, the name of the American restaurant, while Marco commented on anything throughout the ride.

"I know I should've asked this earlier, but have you even met a man? I'm assuming you haven't 'cause you're going on a double-date right now."

You shook your head. "Nobody I'm interested in romantically."

"So you haven't met a man?"

You paused. "No."

"Why did you hesitate?"

"No reason."

"F/n. You're shit at lying. Why did you hesitate?"

"I was just thinking about the question. Like I met with my professor, who is a man, today. Would that count?"

Marco narrowed his eyes at you suspiciously. "You're so lying right now." You furrowed your eyebrows and glanced at him. He was crossing his arms and staring at you like you were guilting of slaughtering hundreds of thousands of innocent human beings.

"I'm not," you insisted. "I'm not interested in anybody right now."

"But you've met somebody."

When you hesitated for the second time, you knew that was your downfall. Marco's jaw dropped and he jumped in his seat a bit.

"What? How could you not tell me?" He was a mixture of surprised and offended.

"It was only a couple of days ago. I took him in."

Marco stared at you with a look of disbelief. "Took him in? What? I'm talking about humans here, not male cats."

You glanced at him, a tad annoyed. "Yes, it was a guy. He says he shifted from a different dimension and needs help," you said, whispering the last part as if you were ashamed.

Marco was frozen while he stared at you. "Never mind. You're obviously on something right now."

"What?"

"What are you saying? Shifted from a different dimension? This isn't like a book or anything. The fact that you said it seriously too..." Marco ran a hand through his hair and leaned back in the leather chair, a sigh escaping his mouth.

"I'm not lying."

"It doesn't even matter if you were telling the truth or not because that just isn't possible. Shifting universes isn't possible. That stuff belongs in a TV show."

You clicked your tongue but decided to leave the conversation there. He wouldn't believe it until he met Eren in real life, anyway. If Marco were to tell you that he began taking care of a man who claimed that he was from a different dimension you would laugh in his face.

"Oh, it's coming up," Marco said and pointed at the left side of your windshield. You took a left in the Land Rover and saw the elegant letters of Crack spelled out on the front wall of a building. Noticing a parking spot nearby, you quickly pulled in and exited the car with Marco.

"I'm way too underdressed." Marco examined your outfit, just now seeing that you were wearing ripped jeans and a sweatshirt.

He shook his head. "You'll be fine. Jean told me the guy he's bringing barely showe—actually never mind. Just... You'll be fine." You narrowed your eyes at him but decided to not question it.

The two of you walked into the restaurant. It was modern and seemed to be expensive, with shiny wood dining tables decorated with stainless steel utensils and perfectly see-through wine glass. The restaurant was dim, one small lamp illuminating each table. The eatery was neither empty nor busy, as when you stepped in you could hear the subtle chatter of other patrons. A woman dressed in an all-black uniform behind a counter sent you a welcoming smile and you both walked up to her.

"A reservation under the name Bolt."

She nodded and quickly typed something on the tablet. "A table for four?"

"Yeah," Marco confirmed.

"Follow me." She slid out from behind the counter and led you two to a table in the back corner. It was different from the others, a white cloth spread out on the usual wood tables and a single red rose in a glass vase in the middle instead of a lamp. A candelabrum circled around the rose, giving it extra attention. Obviously, the tables in the back were meant to be decorated specially, depending on the event.

Marco took a seat next to you, with you being on the inner side of the table. You took out your phone from your jacket pocket and placed it on the table. You heard a notification go off and Marco quickly checked his phone.

"Jean says he'll be here in a few. Oh..." You waited for him to continue as he sighed. "His friend can't make it. Says something about how he actually got a girlfriend."

Your jaw dropped. "Why would he even agree to go on the date if he was having a thing with somebody?"

"I don't know, I'll ask Jean when he gets here." Marco leaned back into his chair and sighed. "If you want to, you can leave."

You furrowed your eyebrows. "Why would I leave? Besides, you need somebody to take you home."

"You're going to be third-wheeling now. If I don't go home with Jean, I'll just take an Uber home," Marco said. You contemplated for a moment but ultimately decided he was right.

—

You found Eren staring at the glass door when you returned home. He turned around immediately once he heard the door close. Bringing out your phone, you began, "Sorry I came home late. I got caught up in something."

"What happened?"

You flopped onto the couch and let out a deep breath. Shedding your jacket, you threw it on the chair nearby that you usually sat on when Eren was lounging on the couch. "I was supposed to go on a double-date but it got canceled."

"A double date?"

"Yeah like a date but fou—"

"I know what a double-date is."

"Okay..." Eren sat down at the end of the couch. You didn't know if him sitting the furthest he could was on purpose or not.

He was wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a plain white shirt as you had just given him a basket of your father's old clothing this morning. The shirt was tight and allowed to see the complete shape of his lean body. Realizing you had been staring, you averted your eyes to the open laptop resting on the table. "Have you been doing research?"

A Wikipedia tab about the multiverse was open. He was scrolled to about the middle of the site, so you assumed he had been reading it for a while already. "Yeah. It doesn't really tell me how to get back, but it helps a bit, I guess."

"Even if the internet is an enormous place, you won't find too much about actually getting back to your universe. Your situation is surprisingly unique." Eren ran a hand through his hair and sighed, an irritated look present on his face. "What were you doing right before you got here?"

He took a moment to think before responding, "I was sleeping in a cell. I had just taken a pill that would help me sleep and drank a glass of water."

Deciding it would be better to not question why he was in his cell, you continued, "Did you come into contact with anything unusual?"

He shook his head. "Not exactly unusual by my standards. I guess it's worth mentioning that a day before I had obtained the powers of another titan."

"So you just got your titan powers yesterday?"

"No, I just got more."

"Oh. How?"

Eren drummed his fingers on the table. "I drank a potion."

You nodded. "That's a pretty classic way to get superpowers. I thought you'd have to kill somebody for them in your world. I'm glad it wasn't, though."

Eren glanced at you with an unreadable expression and sighed. "I didn't do anything out of the ordinary that day or the day before. I seriously can't think of how I got here."

"How about you just go through the week leading up to the day you shifted with me? Maybe you ingested or came in contact with something but just can't remember it. Or maybe I'll be able to point something out," you suggested. Eren glared at you.

"No."

"What? Why not?" He stood up and you scooted back, suddenly feeling inferior.

"I don't want to talk about it," he snapped. You went silent and he walked away. Opening the door to the backyard, he didn't bother to glance behind him as he exited the house. Eren took a seat on the lush green gas and laid back, staring into the dark sky.

There was so much you didn't know about him. First, he came from an entirely different universe where people dying was the norm. He only spoke about the death of his mother, but you were almost positive that countless other people he knew died to the monsters. Perhaps somebody he loved died a couple of days before? Maybe some monster killed his innocent friends and you had just asked him to explain that like it was nothing. You sighed and pressed your hand against your forehead.

You needed to learn more about him to help, but how could you when he had such a traumatic backstory?

Standing up with your phone in hand, you slid open the glass door and walked to take a seat next to him. Eren didn't notice you just yet, so you grasped the moment to stare at him for a bit while motivating yourself to apologize. His arms were folded behind his head to help him rest comfortably.

He glanced at you as you sat fairly close and sat up.

"I'm sorry for asking such an insensitive question. I don't know much about your life, but I'm sure people you knew have passed because of such monsters. I don't know what happened, but if you want to talk about it, I'm here."

Eren stared at you, completely shocked. After a moment, he fell back into the grass and laughed. 

"You are so naive."

"Hm?"

"My entire universe, even some of my closest friends would want me dead if they knew my plan and here you are, comforting me as if I wasn't one of those monsters myself." Eren stared at you and a blush slowly crept up onto your face. His words didn't make sense, but the way he looked at you made your heart beat just a bit faster. "I don't know whether that's a good or bad thing, but it's different. I like different."

"Well, okay." Not even sure if he'd be comfortable with you lying down next to him, you did it anyway. You felt his eyes on you for a couple of seconds before he turned back to look at the sky. You peered at him in the corner of your eye and swore that you saw the childish grin of a fifteen-year-old boy.

—

You woke up with an uncomfortable kink in your neck. Your eyes shot open and you groaned, sitting up from whatever you were laying on. You were surprised to be greeted with the bright morning sunshine blinding you through the glass doors. You raised your arm to protect yourself from the sunlight and looked around the room.

Why the hell were you asleep on your couch? And where was Eren?

You scanned the room but didn't find Eren anywhere. You sighed and figured that he would be in the bathroom, but knocking to make sure would put you at ease. Throwing your legs over the edge of the couch, you stood up.

Right as you felt what was on the bottom of your feet, you realized that it was not a hard marble floor but a squishy stomach. You immediately looked down and saw Eren's eyes wide open, staring at you in shock.

He said something in German in a panicked tone and sat up, which made you stumble back. Your upper back met his feet and your head almost the cold floor, but the angle prevented that. Now you were sitting on Eren's thighs, your legs spread around his waist. You used the table next to you to help you up but failed as you couldn't pull yourself up from such a position.

Eren was still staring at you, shocked while you felt uncomfortable spikes prick all-around your neck. Following was a deep crimson blush slowly but surely making itself noticeable on your cheeks.

"I-I'm sorry!" Eren awkwardly scooted back, allowing you to plop onto the floor. You shot up from the floor and Eren did the same but in a more relaxed manner. You spotted your phone on the table and snatched it, quickly tapping on the app that allowed you to speak to each other.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were lying on the ground," you apologized. Eren didn't respond but just leaned against the couch's armrest.

"It's fine. I was just surprised, you woke me up after all." You scratched the back of your neck and fiddled with your bare toes.

"Why were you sleeping on the ground?" you asked, glancing at the floor which had a pillow on it, which you assumed was for his head.

"You fell asleep outside. I carried you back in, but didn't know where your room was so just put you on the couch."

Oh.

Your toes curled and an explosion of monarchs burst from within your stomach. Your skin felt like it was on fire and the urge to scratch all over your neck grew larger within seconds. Your palms were now damp and you hastily wiped them against your sweatpants. Clearing your throat and fanning yourself as unnoticeably as you could, you smiled at him. Whether it was too unnatural or just the perfect amount of convincing, you didn't know, but what you did know was that you wanted to take a shower. A shower that would wash this foreign sensation away.

"Thank you," you whispered. Eren nodded and turned around slowly as if he wanted to say something before walking to the bathroom. It seemed as if he had the same idea. Perhaps the same sensation spread throughout him too?

...Of course not. He just wanted to take a shower, nothing more, nothing less. You watched him disappear into the bathroom before bolting upstairs to your own private one.

Slamming the door open, you shed your clothes as quickly as possible and hopped into the shower. The warm water usually took about one minute to arrive, but at this point, you couldn't care less. The icy water sprayed against your skin, sending goosebumps throughout your entire body. The cold water completely wiped the warm and icky feeling from before. The monarchs shriveled up and withered away, the sweat that accumulated on your palms was now nowhere to be felt, and your fiery skin was now freezing.

You let out a sigh of relief and took a seat on the tile floor.

When was the last time you felt like that?

When your ex-boyfriend confessed to you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why did this week go by so fast?
> 
> thank you for 1000 hits and 80 kudos!


	5. Soy Sauce and Chopsticks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren learns more about your world and makes a mess while eating sushi.

You were exhausted.

Just having finished your final class for the week, you opened the front door with a yawn and tears pricking your eyes. Your bag landed on the floor and your shoes were slid off next to it.

Eren was on the couch, eating a waffle while reading an article. You assumed it would be about universes, shifting realities, and everything in between. He focused on the article and paid you no mind as you took a seat next to him on the couch. Glimpsing at the page, you confirmed that you were right. It was another article about the multiverse.

After he shut the computer off, he leaned back on the couch and sighed. You plucked your phone from your jean pocket and did the usual. 

"It's hopeless. There is nothing about getting back to my universe."

You chewed on your lip nervously. "I'm sorry, Eren. I don't know what to say. I really can't think of anything else that would help you get back." Your voice was soft and braided with pity. Taking a small glance at the man, you saw him picking at the pair of jeans you had given him. 

"I don't want to say this... but what if you never find a way to get back?"

Eren paused for a moment, making it quite noticeable that he was glaring at you while you stared at him. 

"The fact that I'm here is enough evidence that there should be a way back."

"So you're just going to sit here every day researching?" 

Eren quirked an eyebrow, wondering just what you were trying to get at. 

"That is the most I can do, so yes." 

"I mean, you could research and I could teach you more about this world?" you murmured.

He knew what you were up to. 

You were preparing him for the harsh possibility of him never getting back to his world.

He clicked his tongue, wondering why you would go out of your way to teach him about your world. It must've been the same answer to why you let him stay, he concluded.

"For starters, I'll buy you a beginner's English book. That shouldn't be too bad. If you do get back you can tell them all about English, too," you suggested with a hopeful smile. Eren stared at you, a flash of sadness apparent in his eyes for only a millisecond, and stood up. "I can teach you how to cook too. I'll let you walk Bubbles, do the laundry, and more!"

He didn't like your tone. You sounded almost happy about the situation. A tick formed on Eren's head. 

It seemed as if you wanted him to get stuck here.

"Why do you sound happy about the possibility of me being stuck here forever?" 

The reason why?

You didn't know. 

You pursed your lips and anxiously curled your toes.

He never considered the possibility, but what if you had brought him here? What if you had some sort of special ability that pulled him from his reality? This could all be a simulation of some sort and you were keeping him in the dark.

"I'm not happy about your situation, Eren. I'm simply offering to teach you about this world while you're in it."

"Learning how to cook or walking your dog would be a waste of time if I could be spending it researching."

You rubbed your temple, becoming a bit frustrated. "I'm just trying to make your situation a tad enjoyable. You'll go crazy if all you do is research."

You were beginning to sound desperate. You truly just wanted to make his life a bit more colorful. Although you only knew tiny pieces of his past, you were sure that his life had been one filled with trauma more than anything else. Walking your dog, teaching him to cook a dish, or how to speak a bit of English—those were all minuscule things you were hoping to lighten his life with.

Eren paused to think about your proposition. You haven't shown him any reason why he shouldn't trust you, but trusting somebody ever since he learned of the truth would never come easy again. People didn't help others because they were a good person, they helped others because they gained something from it. Eren just needed to figure out what you were gaining from this to even think about not being suspicious of you. What made you decide that letting a nineteen-year-old man stay in your house was alright? Why did you continue to let him stay? How did you benefit from this situation? He frowned and decided that although you appeared to be a decent woman, he couldn't trust you. He can't trust anybody back in his world--so why would he make an exception here?

Although he told himself he didn't trust you, he accepted the offer. Maybe you teaching him things would lead him to the answer of why you let him stay here. Maybe you would learn to trust him, and he would finally be able to get some answers. 

"Fine."

You couldn't help but grin as the translation went through.

"Where have you been putting your dirty clothes?"

Eren bent down and pulled out a folded stack of clothes from under the couch. You grabbed the clothes and motioned for him to follow you to the laundry room.

Sliding open the door with your foot, Eren stood outside of the door as you entered. You released the clothes, letting them drop onto the floor. "This is the machine that cleans them," you explained, patting the top of the metal wash machine. Then you tapped the other one. "This one dries them. All you have to do is put them on a specific mode and give them a cup of laundry detergent."

While you were getting on your tippy-toes to snatch the chemical off the top rack, a wave of nostalgia hit Eren. For some reason, the smell of this room felt familiar. It reminded him of the days that he would have to clean because Captain Levi had ordered him to. The scent was unnatural and his nostrils flared a bit.

You poured some of the thick blue liquid into the cap of the laundry detergent after uncapping it. "Put around this much." You pulled the small drawer open. "Then pour it here." You poured the liquid contents into the drawer and then closed it. "There are some buttons here. Most of the time it'll be the first ones unless I say so." After throwing the dirty clothes into the machine, you clicked all of the first buttons then the largest one at the top. "This one starts the washing machine."

It slowly began to shake and you continued to teach Eren how to use the dryer. You asked Eren if he had any questions at the end, and with him having none, the two of you went back to the living room.

It was already around 9 o'clock, and tomorrow would be the beginning of the weekend. You were not sure if Marco was going to ask to hang out to make up for yesterday, but if he did not, you had Eren to hang out with. Of course, you were also going to help him get back home, but with your conversation earlier, he was fine with you teaching him some everyday activities and showing him around Miami.

Right as you were about to sit down on the couch, you heard Eren's stomach growl.

"Do you want me to make something for dinner?"

Eren involuntary murmured, "Yes."

Now rummaging through your fridge, you were disappointed to see that, along with the freezer, it was bare. Frowning a bit, you contemplated either ordering food or taking a quick trip to the grocery store. 

"I don't have any food. Do you want me to go to the grocery store or should I just order food?"

"Why're you asking me?"

You weren't sure how to answer the question. "Well... I just wanted to know your input."

"Make the decision yourself. You have the freedom to do so." You furrowed your eyebrows and stared at the cool marble counter. It was a simple decision between driving to the grocery store or ordering food. Why was he acting like it was something larger than that?

"I'll order some food then. I'll go to the grocery store tomorrow."

After you sent an order to a nearby sushi restaurant through an app, you stared at Eren as you waited for the order to process. He was sitting on the couch, jotting down notes in the notebook you had given him earlier today.

Eren thought about how his friends at home would react if he never made it back. 

How would Mikasa and Armin feel? 

They would be heartbroken. 

How would Mikasa react to the man she loved disappearing?

Even to him, the crush was obvious. As a teenager, he ignored it. They were basically siblings, how could he return those romantic feelings? But as she became a woman, he viewed her as more of one. To be honest, if he was born in this world—a peaceful one without titans trying to murder his friends—he and Mikasa might have gotten married. They would have settled down, had a few kids, and lived a life he would be happy with.

But no.

He had to be born into a life full of death, sorrow, and betrayal. A life that he would only be able to live four more years in.

Since his titan powers did not exist in this world, would he be able to live past twenty-three? He could not say for sure unless he stayed in this world for that long of a time. Eren was not planning on settling here, though. He had to find some way to get back. There must be some of sort meaning behind this. Did a higher power shift him to this world because they knew about his plan? Were they also able to see in the future, like him?

The order processed on your phone and you shut it off. You had ordered a meal for Eren without asking him, as explaining the menu to him would be pointless. You were almost positive he did not know anything about Asian cuisine.

Usually, on Friday nights you would binge-watch movies, play some video games on your PS4, or hang out with Marco.

Speaking of Marco, he had sent you a message while you were ordering the food. He asked to hang out tomorrow and for you to introduce him to your male cat. Not too sure whether you would want Marco to meet Eren in the first place, you lied to Marco and told him it was all a lie. That was the first time you ever lied to him, but you convinced yourself it was for the best.

"Eren, I'm going to play some video games. Is that fine?"

"Why do you ask me for permission?"

"Well, you're researching right now."

"In your house, on your sofa, using your computer."

You went quiet and walked to the console to turn it on. After grabbing the blue controller, you took a seat next to Eren and pressed the button in the center. You clicked on Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, hoping that you'd be able to beat the game today.

Around thirty minutes into playing, you couldn't help but notice the pair of eyes on you as you furiously tried to pass a level without getting killed by the burly men with heavy sets of armor paired with a double-shot gun. Nathan, the character you were playing as, had died at least eight times now.

"Is it X to jump or climb, square to hit, triangle to reload your weapon, and circle to hide? Then some buttons in the back to aim and shoot?"

Eren's deep voice startled you, causing you to drop the plastic controller on the ground. With the game on pause, you slowly picked it off the floor. 

"Uh, yeah, it is." 

A moment of silence filled the air.

"Did you want to try?"

"Yeah." 

You handed Eren the controller and he observed it for a moment. He copied the position you held the controller in and you reached over to click the button that would unpause the game.

Eren died immediately during his first try. 

His attempts after ended with him dying pretty quickly, but after a couple of rounds under his belt, he began lasting longer. His aim was actually pretty decent for playing the game for the first time.

Leaning back into the couch from the tense position you had been in while playing, you didn't watch the TV displaying the video game, but Eren's face. He unknowingly chewed on his lip and tapped on the buttons with more force than necessary. His eyebrows were furrowed and he was hunched over. With his hair pulled back into a low bun, you concluded that he looked cute.

Yeah. 

He was cute. 

You knew that already. If you saw a man like him on the street the first words that would go through your mind would be: "He's way out of my league." Somehow, a man like him was sitting next to you, playing video games on your PS4. No other man besides your ex-boyfriend and Marco has ever come over to your house just to simply hang out. Actually, you have never had a roommate who was a man (besides your father).

He screamed something in German which pulled you out of your trance. Now looking at the TV screen, you saw that he just died again. Right as he respawned, your doorbell rang. You hopped off the couch and scurried to the front door.

The bag of food was sitting on your porch. Snatching the bag and waving to the employee before shutting the door, you entered the kitchen to place the bag on the kitchen island. You spread the sushi on the counter, occasionally glimpsing at Eren. You also noticed two pairs of chopsticks hiding in the dark corner of the bag. Now with the food and chopsticks splayed on the counter, you found what you ordered for yourself and prepared the meal.

You brought out your translator and said, "Eren the food is here." He paused the game and stood up. Although he had only played the game for twenty minutes, you could tell he was already frustrated. He sat down on the barstool and you shoved the chopsticks and generic sushi roll towards him. Eren stared at the chopsticks for a moment, a bit suspicious of them before ripping open the packaging.

"What are these?" He held them separately in his hands. You pushed a small bowl of soy sauce in the middle of you two. Eren was sitting on the barstool while you were leaning against the counter, directly in front of him.

"You use them to pick up food." You ripped open your own pair and showed him the correct way to hold them. Eren tried to mimic your grip but failed miserably. One of the chopsticks actually fell in the bowl of soy sauce, causing the dark liquid to splatter on his white shirt. He frowned while you just shrugged your shoulders. It was just a cheap white shirt anyway, throwing it away would not be a big deal. You were about to tell him to not worry about it, but he began fumbling with the shirt.

Eren mumbled something before ripping off the shirt entirely and moving to the sink. He turned it on and began cupping the water. A massive blush spread across your face as you stared at his muscles contract while he barbarically tried to scrub the stain. After about a minute of you ogling his bareback and him cursing quietly as he failed to get the stain out, you finally decided to stop him. 

"It's fine. It's my dad's old shirt anyway."

"What are you saying? I'd beat somebody for ruining one of my shirts."

"I have a lot more."

Eren stopped scrubbing, letting the cool water run over his hands and the shirt. "Right. I forgot you owned an absurd amount of clothing."

"What do you mean? You haven't even seen my closet." Eren turned off the sink and dropped the drenched shirt in it. He used a towel hung on one of the cabinets to dry his hands off.

"You wear different clothes every day. Although they're the same style, I can tell the difference."

"Well, most people do that."

"Weird." Eren returned to his seat, now shirtless. You forced yourself to stare at your sushi instead of his defined chest. "How do I use these again?"

You stared at your own hands as they held the chopsticks correctly. Eren copied the way you held them and slowly lowered his hands to hover right above the food. The chopsticks hugged a sushi roll and right as it was about to lift off the plate, the food fell to join the other sushi rolls. Eren frowned and just grabbed the sushi roll with his bare hands to shove it in his mouth.

You chucked at his childish behavior and he playfully glared at you. "Here," you began. You walked over to his side and grabbed his hand.

He was hesitant about letting you touch him, but after a second he let you control his hands. You noticed that his hands were soft and smooth.

How could that be when he was in the military?

You shrugged off the thought and continued, not before noticing how warm his hands were. You placed the chopsticks in his hands correctly and guided him to the sushi roll. After he successfully picked it up with your assistance, he brought it to his mouth. He chomped on the sushi roll (the wooden chopsticks, too) and swallowed shortly after. Realizing you were still holding onto his hands, you quickly dropped them.

"There's no flavor."

"Oh, sorry."

"No, it's alright. It reminds me of home." You quirked an eyebrow at him as he downed another roll.

"Well, there's some soy sauce. I usually dip the sushi rolls in that before eating them."

Eren lifted another sushi roll with the chopstick. "This is called a sushi roll?" You nodded. "And the small bowl of black sauce is called soy sauce?" You nodded again. "Armin would probably like these. They're colorful, unlike the food we ate."

"Armin?"

"He's the friend that wanted to visit the ocean."

You nodded. "What does he look like?"

Eren swallowed another sushi roll. "When we were younger, he had a bowl cut. Now he has shorter blonde hair. He's short, comes up to my shoulders." You tried to imagine a shorter, kind-looking blonde boy that reached up to his shoulders. For some reason, you had a feeling that a kid with a bowl cut could not be mean.

After eating about half of his filling, Eren paused and thought about the friend you had. His name was Marco, and for some reason, Eren had an urge to learn about him as well. "Your friend, Marco. What's he like?"

You placed down your chopsticks on the kitchen island and cocked your head. Not really bothered by the fact that he asked about one of your friends for no apparent reason, you answered, "I met him around a year ago. He's kind, supportive—probably the sweetest dude I've ever met."

A chill was sent down Eren's spine. Obviously, it was a coincidence that you had a friend named Marco. But why did he have to sound so much like the one that died almost five years ago? Eren quickly finished his meal and threw the empty plastic containers into the trash bag. He learned over the course of his stay that some materials were reusable and some weren't. Although he didn't know the name of them, he could tell by the appearance and texture of the material.

"You're full?"

Eren rolled his eyes. Why did you care about him so much? You reminded him of Mikasa, the overprotective side of her. In what would've been today back in his own world, he planned to break Mikasa's heart. Those short six words would surely cause her to leave her scarf behind.

Instead, Eren responded maturely. "Yeah."

You smiled and cleaned up your own plate. You expected Eren to unpause the video game, but instead, he went back to researching. Not in the mood to play anymore either, you shut off the PS4 and TV then retreated back to your own room.

Bubbles lied on your bed, sleeping peacefully. As you were about to join your dog, your phone vibrated in your pocket, causing you to stop. Marco had messaged you again, asking if you wanted to go clubbing tomorrow with Jean. Supposedly Jean was going to bring some of his friends along, and Marco thought it'd be a good way to make some.

You smiled at the thought of having a friend group. The last time you had a pretty decently sized one was back in high school, but it quickly dissolved once you and your boyfriend broke up. Let's just say he was the more popular one in the group, only leaving you with a couple of close friends.

You quickly told Marco that you'd be up for it and shut off your phone.

Hopefully, it would be a fun night.


	6. She Wears Short Skirts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go to the club and meet Marco's friends.

"I have plans later tonight, so you'll have the house all to yourself." Eren paused the game and set the controller down, turning around to look at you.

"Are you going grocery shopping?" You slapped your forehead and groaned.

"I keep on forgetting! I'll just do it tomorrow," you said, grabbing a Fruit Snack from the drawer. For the past couple of days, you had given all the orange ones to Eren. At first, he just allowed them to pile up in front of him, not daring to touch the sugary treat, but with each day he ate one more than before.

Even shrugged and unpaused the game. It was late in the afternoon, which meant that you had to get ready soon.

Glancing at Eren, you found it a bit ironic that the other day he had gotten angry for assuming that you were trying to keep him here by offering to teach him daily activities. Now he was lounging on the couch, a bag of potato chips (the only ones you had left) next to him, halfway into his own story of the Uncharted game. You had to give him credit, though. Most of the time he spent researching on your computer, jotting down notes he thought were important. Although you didn't want to dwindle his spirit, with the little knowledge your society had about alternate universes, you were sure that he was becoming frustrated. Him playing the game and taking short breaks was good for his mental health.

As you walked up the stairs to prepare your outfit for this evening, Eren stared at you as you made your way up the stairs. You were wearing baggy clothing as usual and he wondered just why you did that. As a soldier, everybody would wear skin-tight clothing. It was easier to move around in and although uncomfortable sometimes, would probably be better than wearing such large clothing. He had yet to see you wear something tight at all.

Eren also realized that he had been sleeping more than usual lately. The first night he couldn't fall asleep—not like he really tried to, though—but the second came to him rather easily. He concluded it was probably because his body couldn't afford to pull two all-nights in a row, but that didn't excuse the day before yesterday and yesterday. The couch was very comfortable compared to the beds back at home and sleep seemed to consume him right as he shut his eyes. Back in the jail cell in Paradis, he spent countless hours trying to find a way to prevent the deaths of people that would ultimately get killed as the future showed him, but now in this other universe, he didn't have to worry about that at all. 

It was... nice.

His jaw clenched and he ran a hand through his hair. That was so fucking selfish of him to think. Marleyans could be killing Scouts as he thought about how nice it was to not think about the fate of humanity. Mikasa and Armin could be getting tortured as he slept soundlessly. He needed to get back as soon as possible, but the internet wasn't giving him any leads. Plus, without his powers, he felt utterly useless. How was he supposed to get back when he didn't know how he got here in the first place?

Back upstairs, you were face-timing Marco about what to wear.

"What about that short black skirt your mom got you?" Marco asked. From what you could see through the screen, he was laying down on his bed, his outfit already chosen next to him. He was going to wear black jeans and a simple white shirt. There really wasn't much to choose from because of his limited wardrobe, as he was just a college student.

You shook your head, the too-short of a skirt appearing in your mind. "Are you crazy? Some of my underwear are longer than that thing."

"So? You'll look sexy as hell. I'm sure some of Jean's friends are cute." You rummaged through your closet to find the skirt. "You could go with an all-black look and pair it with a crop top. You wore those in high school, right?"

You sighed. You did wear crop tops in high school, even if they broke the dress code, because who didn't? Your boyfriend thought you looked sexy as hell and even urged you to wear tighter shirts and shorts. So, you had an abundance of clothing that you'd never wear in a million years in the back of your closet collecting dust. "I think I'll just wear some jeans and a shirt."

"Boring," Marco mumbled. You shook your head and plucked your favorite pair of skinny jeans from the closet and a matching shirt. "Listen, I wear jeans and a shirt because I can't afford to buy outfits just for clubbing. You have a shit load of expensive skirts and shirts that are perfect for the occasion. Why not use them?"

"Because being in a skirt doesn't make the experience more fun. I'll have just as much fun dancing in jeans—maybe even more because I won't have to worry about the bottom part of my ass peeking out." Marco sighed but ultimately gave up. He wasn't going to force you to wear revealing clothing if you weren't comfortable with it.

"Alright, I understand. I'll call you back though, I want to take a shower before Jean picks me up." 

You nodded and ended the call. Tossing your phone onto your bed, you stared at the black skirt that was spread on your bed along with the jeans. This would be your first time clubbing since your parent's death. You had gone when you were eighteen and actually did wear the clothes that Marco had wanted you to. It wasn't bad at all, with your boyfriend having a protective arm wrapped around your waist twenty-four seven. What if you had another guy to hold you while you were out clubbing?

Eren.

What?

You smacked your forehead. Why the hell did you just think of a dude who didn't even speak English to be the man who would have an arm wrapped around your waist the whole time you went clubbing? You barely even knew him! He would be one of the men you'd want to protect yourself from in the club!

Was it because he was attractive? You guessed that you wouldn't mind a man with a ten pack and a gorgeous face holding you for such a long period of time. Maybe even going further than—

You let out a deep sigh, interrupting your thoughts. Your eyes flickered between the short skirt and comfortable pair of jeans, and for the first time in forever, you chose the option that was beyond your comfort zone.

—

Staring at your appearance in the mirror, you truly wondered why you decided to wear such an unusual outfit. Your legs appeared smooth, as you had shaved in the shower and your ankles were decorated with small dark-colored anklets to match with your skirt and top. Your tank-top was rather plain, simple spaghetti straps and tight around your body. However, you did add a necklace that fell in between the valley of your breasts to dress up the shirt. The skirt, which was the main event of the outfit, was overall tight. It allowed almost no room to spread your legs out to man-spread on a seat, but you probably shouldn't be doing that with a skirt anyway. Your thighs bulged out from the bottom of the skirt just a bit, a reminder that it was from your high school days and that you were no longer that size anymore.

Marco had messaged you around five minutes ago that Jean and he had just arrived. Since Marco lived on campus, it probably took them thirty minutes to get here.

Taking one final glance at yourself in the mirror, you turned around and opened the door. Walking down the stairs as quietly as you could, you burned holes in the back of Eren's head as he focused on reading something on the computer screen. Already blushing, you shamed yourself for getting embarrassed so easily. You were literally going to let random people in a club see you in such a state but the man downstairs was the one making you second-guess your decision.

You wondered just why you were getting embarrassed? The familiar sensation that you've been experiencing more than average as of lately built up on the surface of your palms. Were you nervous? Nervous about how Eren will react? If he would react at all?

You let out a small sigh, nothing a normal person would be able to pick up and entered the kitchen. However, Eren turned around saw the upper portion of your body, the bottom covered by the kitchen island. Realizing he had noticed you, you decided to immediately strike a conversation, hoping it would distract the man from your drastic change in clothing.

"There's not much food, but I'm sure you'll find some TV dinners in the freezer. I'll show you how to use the microwave now." Eren placed down his pencil and stood up.

"TV dinners?" he asked, leaning against the opposite side of the island.

"Yeah, it's basically just cheap, packaged food."

Eren furrowed his eyebrows but walked around the counter to watch you bring the TV dinner out from the freezer. But when he noticed that your legs were almost completely bare, he froze.

Pulling the plastic wrapper off of the package before you were to place it in the microwave, you were completely ignorant to him glancing down at your legs every two seconds.

Your soft, smooth legs were exposed for anybody to see. Your plush thighs hugged the rim of the jet black tight skirt, not to mention the curve of your back. Eren cleared his throat and looked away.

This wasn't what he meant by tight clothing. It was almost as if you were wearing nothing. The undergarments you had given him were longer than your bottom. He was sure if any woman wore this back in Paradis they would be shunned and have rocks thrown at them, civilians claiming she was a concubine. Was it normal to wear such tight, seductive clothing here?

Then it clicked.

You had told him you were going out tonight. Of course, it would be with somehow else—why hadn't he thought of that? Eren assumed it would be with the friend who had made you blush over the phone. He nodded and concluded that you must have some male in your life that wasn't technically your boyfriend--as they would obviously hate the idea of him staying with you--but something less than that.

"Then you click 1, 3, and 0. That means one minute and thirty seconds. That's how long it'll heat up for." Eren ripped his eyes from your smooth legs that he somehow found himself staring at once again to your face which was—for whatever reason—unnaturally red.

"Sorry about the clothing... It must be weird to see me like this."

Eren furrowed his eyebrows. Why were you apologizing? Because he had never seen you in such a light before? He shook his head.

"It's... no. Don't apologize. You look good."

"What?"

Eren choked on nothing in particular. That's not what he meant to say. He meant to say that you were good, as in he was fine. When he realized that you were looking away, he took a step back. He cursed to himself and realized that you must be feeling so uncomfortable right now.

On the other hand, you were freaking out. Your hands already clammy, you thanked your past self that you had decided to wear a tank-top and not a shirt.

"Anyway," you began. Fanning your face with one of your hands, you stared at the timer on the microwave that had forty-five seconds left. You gaped and prayed that the time could go by just a bit faster. "So when the timer finishes, the microwave will beep. That means it'll be done. There are utensils to eat are in this drawer." You pulled the drawer open and picked up a fork that he could eat with. "Just make sure to not put any of them in the microwave. It'll like... explode or something."

Eren nodded and you handed the fork to him. The microwave beeped and you popped it open. Grabbing the hot packaging, you quickly let it fall onto the marble counter. 

"It's hot, so be a bit careful."

He stared at the food. It was colorful. Everything seemed to be colorful compared to his universe. Your house had vibrant paintings hung on the wall along with the garden in the backyard that was decorated with multi-colored flowers. He hasn't seen you touch them once yet, so he wondered how they were kept in such perfect shape. The food here was also more visually appealing, but he still longed for the familiar taste of the dull porridge he had eaten every day as a teenager. Two things reminded him of home here. The smell of the laundry room and your version of Marco.

Actually, the blush on your face you wore quite often reminded him of Mikasa's.

He sat on the counter and took small bites of the food. You took a seat next to him, placing your phone in between the two of you. "I'll probably be back late, it'll most likely say one or two AM on the microwave by the time I arrive."

Eren nodded. He wondered if the streets here were as dangerous as his back home. Women never left the house after dark because of the creepy, sick men. He assumed that it couldn't be, or that you were going to be with other people, so he didn't worry too much.

After he finished his food, your phone rang. He dropped the plastic into the garbage and stared at you as you spoke words he didn't recognize into the phone.

Hopping off of the barstool, you walked to the door. "I'm leaving now, Eren. Bye!" Eren stared at you and your form as you exited the house.

You did look good in the skirt.

Marco and a man that was around six feet or more exited the red convertible. The man, who you figured was Jean, had his hair slicked back and walked around the war to greet you.

"I'm Jean, nice to meet you." He put out his hand and you shook it.

"F/n L/n, likewise," you replied.

"Let's get going, shall we?" Jean asked the two of you. You both nodded and Marco opened the front door to enter the car.

You entered the car and buckled up immediately. Jean turned the key and the engine revved. He pulled out of the driveway rather too quickly for your liking.

The conversation while Jean drove to the club mostly consisted of him complaining about how his parents wanted him to take over his father's business. It seemed as if he was gloating somehow, but you shrugged it off. He must've been a good person if Marco liked him. Marco would chuckle at Jean's jokes that you personally didn't find funny, so you awkwardly laughed along.

It took about thirty minutes to get to the club, but you didn't mind. It was a Saturday night, everybody was out partying.

Exiting the car along with the two other men, you heard somebody call out to them. A blonde man with a wide build waved at Jean and Marco. His shirt accentuated how well-defined he was. You walked behind Marco and Jean as he greeted the two of them.

Once his eyes met yours, he grinned. "Is this the girl you've been keeping a secret, Marco?" He glanced at Marco curiously and then looked back at you to maintain strong eye contact.

"I haven't been keeping her a secret, Reiner. And please, don't flirt with her too much," Marco said. You blushed and glared at Marco.

"Sure, sure." Reiner didn't take his eyes off of you as you all walked to the entrance of the club. You showed your IDs to the bouncer and he drew an "X," on your's and Jean's hands with a sharpie that was labeled "glow in the dark." 

Reiner glanced at you. "You're not twenty-one yet?"

"Not yet."

"What's your name?" Reiner whispered, hunching over a bit so you could hear him more clearly.

"F/n."

"I'm Reiner, nice to meet you." You smiled at him and he grinned back. The two of you entered the club and the music you could hear faintly from outside was now being heard loud and clear. You cringed slightly, but after a few seconds, you became used to the volume. People in the center were dancing, some practically humping one another. The bar was off to the right and the lounge was in the back, dimly lit. "Annie and Bertholdt are in the back to the right."

"Sasha and Connie couldn't make it?" Jean asked as all of you made your way to the lounge.

"Nope, Sasha's one-year anniversary with Niccolo is today and Connie is sulking in his dorm."

Jean chuckled and you four finally met the two Reiner had mentioned.

"Annie, Bertholdt, this is F/n," Marco said. Annie nodded at you while Bertholdt smiled softly. You waved back at the two of them then proceeded to take a seat on the sticky booth.

Annie was dressed in jeans and a plain shirt and you suddenly felt like you should've chosen that instead. You weren't able to long about an outfit change for too long, though. Annie suddenly grabbed your hand that was drawn on and brought it to her face. "Let's go to the bathroom and wash it off."

"Oh, right," you awkwardly agreed. The two of you sat up from the seats and Annie led you to the bathroom.

The four men watched you as you walked away. Reiner was the first one to speak. "She's hot."

Marco sighed. "Calm down, buddy. Didn't you just hook up with Historia?"

"No, I didn't. Ymir won't get off her for one second. Somebody, please tell her that Historia is straight."

"Ymir said that she and Historia made out before," Bertholdt added.

"Okay, like all girls do that," Jean said. Marco raised his eyebrows and shook his head at Jean.

"Anyway, Reiner you're not fucking then dipping. She's my best friend," Marco said. Reiner leaned back into the chair with a groan.

"Wouldn't be surprised if Annie does it first. She basically dragged her to the bathroom!"

"Hey!"

"What, Bertholdt? You haven't made a move since we were kids." Bertholdt glared at Reiner but blushed at the thought of Annie doing such an intimate act.

Back in the bathroom, Annie was aggressively scrubbing your skin with a rag she had brought out from her bag. You flinched a bit at the harshness but didn't dare to speak. After another minute of scrubbing, your hand was free from any sharpie. You rubbed over the tender spot.

"Thanks, Annie."

"Don't mention it. Let's just get back before they talk too much shit," Annie said and led you out from the dirty bathroom. You nodded and wondered what she exactly meant.

She paused before she opened the door. "Don't let Reiner fuck you just yet."

"What?" You blushed at her statement and she stared at you as if she was observing your every move. "I mean... I'm not."

She had a doubtful look on before exiting the bathroom. You rubbed the back of your neck, feeling a bit uncomfortable. The two of you pushed yourself through the sea of people to get back to the booth.

Once you finally made it, Annie stayed standing up for a moment. Everybody glanced at her with a curious look before she spoke up.

"She has a boyfriend."

"What?" They all asked in unison. Marco gaped as he glanced between you and Annie. You stared at Annie, just as confused.

"When I warned her about Reiner, she had this look on her face that told me she was already interested in somebody."

Reiner rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Annie. You're such a bullshitter." Bertholdt laughed a bit while Jean and Marco spoke quietly to each other. Reiner cleared his throat and faced you.

"You don't actually have a boyfriend, right?"

You could hear somebody groan loudly. "Oh my God, Reiner, please. Just because Mr. Ten Pack isn't here doesn't mean you should flirt with every chick you meet," Jean complained.

Bertholdt sighed. "He has a girlfriend, though."

Reiner narrowed his eyes at Jean. "What are you even implying?"

"The fact that the chicks wouldn't even glance in your direction if he was with us."

You cringed at the harshness of Jean's words. Reiner did not look too offended, so you assumed they were closer than you thought. You wondered who "Mr. Ten Pack" was, but didn't ask as you would feel too nosy. He must be hot, though.

"Okay, first of all... You know what? Fuck you. He grew out his hair and now he thinks he's the shit. He's literally a virgin!"

"Not for long!" Marco chimed in.

"Mikasa will go for the kill as soon as possible," Annie said.

Although you were completely lost in the conversation, you were entertained by it nonetheless. Marco glanced at you and frowned.

"Sorry. How about we go for a little dance?" Marco asked, smiling at you.

Jean smiled at him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"Of cours—"

"I was talking to F/n," Marco interrupted.

Jean's jaw dropped and he slowly pulled his arm away from Marco. Marco winked at him and scooted past the other guys to stand by the table. Already at the edge of the booth, you stood up and took the hand that Marco offered.

"Why is he better at picking up girls and he's literally gay?" Annie asked Reiner.

"Shut the fuck up," Reiner muttered, staring at the two of you getting lost in the crowd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really like this chapter. I think its boring lol. I also wrote it at like 1AM so the editing was JEEEZ. And its two days late, sorry about that.


	7. Day After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren and you head to the grocery store.

What number was this?

Fourth? Fifth?

All you knew was that you should really stop drinking, but holy shit, hanging out with a group of friends as awesome as this was so much fun. You don't remember the last time you had ever teared up from laughing so hard. In fact, you couldn't remember much right now.

Reiner downed his shot right next to you, face completely red as he placed it down on the table. He and you had been going at it for the past hour--drinking, cracking jokes, and just overall having a great time.

Bertholdt stared at you with frightened eyes as the empty glass was slammed on the counter by your sweaty hands. He worriedly glanced at Jean who was too busy whispering something in Marco's ear. He knew that Jean drove you here and he was just wondering whether Jean could actually drive you back. He and Marco did not look completely sober, either.

Reiner and you were both shit-faced, which Bertholdt knew was a recipe for disaster. To be honest, he wasn't one to stop his friend from getting with a girl but Annie sure was. Every time Reiner leaned a bit too close, Annie would glare at him with such a fierce aura that even drunk Reiner got the message.

He didn't know why Annie was being so protective of you. Perhaps you had talked to her about a crush of yours? Or she just must hate Reiner to extent of stopping him from getting a girl in his bed tonight. Bertholdt hesitated. It was probably the latter.

You and Reiner could not stop laughing over one of the stupidest Tiktok that had shown up on your for-you-page. Honestly, nobody knew why you two were on your phones in a club, but nobody cared enough to question it.

But after dancing with Reiner for at least an hour straight, collapsing on the booth was heaven. Reiner and your video just made it ten times better.

Your cheeks became warm as you glanced at Reiner, who was staring at the video that had replayed for the tenth time. He wasn't too bad, you thought. Even if he was basically exposed as a player, you couldn't blame the girls who fell for his charm. He had thin eyebrows and a thin goatee, and although most men you've seen couldn't pull it off, he did it quite well.

Reiner glanced back at you as your eyes slowly trailed down from his eyes to his lips.

His eyes slowly dropped down to your own set of soft lips. You licked them to make sure they weren't dry and just as you were about to go in, a hand-pulled you away.

"No."

She gripped your shoulder and tugged you back. A bit surprised, you frowned and turned around to face her, a deep crimson red painted across your face. Even drunk, you knew that you were a grown woman and could make the decision yourself. This man was sexy and you wanted a piece of him. 

"Annie, let me go!"

Annie shook her head. "I'll let you make out with him when you're both sober. It's almost 1 AM, you should head home."

"Jean drove me here."

Annie glanced at Jean who was currently all over a blushing Marco and groaned. "Hey!" She shouted at the two men. Marco shoved Jean away, causing him to fall back rather harshly.

"Yes?" Marco asked, a bit embarrassed.

"What's her address? I'll take her home."

Jean pulled himself up and narrowed his eyes. "Is she even alright with that?"

Annie glanced at you who was rocking in the booth absentmindedly. It seemed that you got over Annie preventing you from kissing Reiner rather quickly. Reiner was frowning in the corner while Bertholdt sent him a supportive smile.

"Does it look like she can even think for herself right now?"

Jean observed you for a moment before shrugging, basically agreeing. Marco pulled out his phone and handed it to Annie. She forwarded the address to herself before sliding it back to him.

"Alright, we're leaving. I'll see you guys tomorrow." As Annie was about to help you stand up from the booth, a deep voice spoke. 

"You're just using her as an excuse to leave early, aren't you?"

The voice startled both you and Annie as a man appeared behind her. You tried to see who it was, but the club was dark and the flashing lights didn't help much.

"You're a bit late."

"Sorry, had things to do."

"Like Mikasa?"

There was a brief moment of silence. All you heard was the loud thumping music and even the others at the table had stopped talking.

"Where even is she, anyway?" Marco asked.

"Watching a movie with Armin. You know she doesn't like this stuff."

The name he just said... It sounded familiar for such an unusual name. You tried to remember where you heard it but came up with nothing. You weren't in the best state to start remembering things, either.

"And you chose to club over your girlfriend, wow," Jean said. He sighed disappointedly and crossed his arms.

"Shut up, Jean." The man paused and you felt his stare on you. "Who's this?"

You glanced at him but only saw the dark outline of his hair being pulled back. It was a bit messy, almost reminding you of Eren's when his hair was in a bun.

"Marco's friend, F/n. Reiner and her almost hit it off, but Annie stopped them," Bertholdt explained. You smiled at Bertholdt for the explanation and he sent you a softer one back.

"Annie, always the cockblocker." The man sighed. "She's way out of Reiners league, though. That might've given him too much of a boost in confidence."

"Don't think Mikasa would be too happy with that sentence," Jean muttered. The man threw his head back with a chuckle.

"I can't even see her because it's so dark, but I do know that literally any woman is out of Reiner's league."

Reiner flipped the man a bird and he just shrugged.

"Whatever. We're leaving now."

You pushed yourself up from the booth and Annie offered you a supportive arm. Now standing up, you could see the man's face a tad more clearly.

Not by much, though.

You noticed that he had his hair in a low bun. He had no facial hair and wore an exhausted look. Dark circles were etched into his face and once you passed by him you swore that you could smell a faint scent of weed. Your nose scrunched together as Annie pushed through the crowd with you beside her.

"Thank you for taking me home, Annie."

She glanced at you.

"Don't mention it."

—

During the drive home, you had sobered up. After waving to Annie as she pulled out of your driveway in her run-down pickup truck, you clumsily searched through your purse to find your keys.

Shoving them into the keyhole with a sigh, you opened the door. You unhooked your flats and threw them to the side and walked to the kitchen to toss your purse on the counter.

Licking your dry lips, you grabbed a glass from the cabinet to fulfill your thirst.

"You're back." The voice surprised you and you almost dropped the glass onto the cold floor. You turned around and saw Eren in a plain white shirt and pajama pants. His hair was loose and sat on his broad shoulders.

"Yes, I am," you confirmed. You poured water into the glass cup and stared at him while you sipped it. "What have you been doing?"

"Not much," Eren replied. Truthfully, Eren had been worrying about your well-being. But he told himself you were going to be fine, and he was right. Whoever you must've hung out with were most likely dependable people.

"You haven't been researching?"

Eren shook his head. "I don't think the research is helping. I was hoping there could be something else that could lead me to a solution."

You chewed on your lip as you rubbed the condensation on the cold glass with your thumb. "I'm not sure..."

Eren took a seat on the barstool and sighed. "So all that's here that can help me is a laptop?"

You scratched the back of your neck. "Basically, yeah. Maybe it's something related to time. You stay here for a week then when you go to sleep you'll be back in your world."

Eren sent you a doubtful look, realizing that there wasn't much he or you could do about the situation. Based on what you had told him, nobody here was familiar with shifting universes, which means nothing here will be able to help him. One day he'd hopefully wake up in his bed in the cell, with no time having passed.

"So, I wait?"

You shook your head. "You can continue your research, but in the meantime, you can wait." Tears pricked your eyes as you yawned. "Alright, I'm getting pretty tired."

He nodded and returned to the couch he had been sitting on. "Goodnight, Eren."

He turned around to watch you make your way up the stairs. You closed your door that night without hearing a response.

—

You slammed the fridge door closed with a groan. It was completely empty and your growling stomach was not happy about that. Plus you had a mild headache from the drinking last night.

Eren wasn't researching in the living room, but actually working out in your garden. You were never one that enjoyed working out, even if you had an annual membership for a local gym nearby. The last time you went was before this college semester started, or about a couple of months ago.

Eren had basketball shorts on that reached his midthigh with no shirt on. You had no complaints about him being shirtless, but you wondered why he was so comfortable being so bare around you. It must not be a big deal where he's from, you guessed.

You rubbed your stomach to calm its groans. Deciding that you'd have to go to the grocery store today, you opened your phone to begin jotting down a list of what's needed.

Outside, Eren was on the thirtieth push-up when he saw you typing something on your phone. He paused and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his forearm while he observed you. It seemed as if you had just gotten up, even if the sun had already been out for a few hours. He still didn't understand why you take so long to come downstairs, but never took the time to question it. Standing up and wiping his sweaty palms on the shorts, he decided to cut his workout short and head inside.

You glanced up once you heard the glass door being opened. "Good morning."

"Hey. By the way, there's no food in the fridge or cabinets."

"Good morning to you too, Eren. And yes, I know. I'm writing down a list of what to buy at the grocery store right now," you said. Eren used a spare shirt to wipe himself free of any sweat before sitting on the couch. Bubbles quickly joined him, sitting on his lap. Eren patted the dog carefully and you raised your eyebrows at how different he's become since he first came here. You chuckled at the memory of Eren being frightened of the dog, but now he actually allows the dog to sit on his lap—he even pets it, too!

"Do you want anything from the store?"

Eren hesitated. "Do you have cheesy meat?"

"Cheesy meat? Do you mean a cheeseburger?"

"I don't know what a cheeseburger is. I mean a circle of meat with melted cheese on the top."

"Yes, that's a cheeseburger. And yeah, I'll grab some of those for you. Anything else?"

"No." You quickly added another bullet point to write down his request. You smiled to yourself, happy that he didn't say he was "fine," as always.

Assuming that was the end of the conversation, you made your way upstairs to get ready for the day. However, you paused once you heard Eren speak.

"Can I come with you?"

"To the grocery store? I mean, yeah, sure."

—

Eren buckled himself up as you started the engine to the Land Rover. Making sure to have connected your phone to the speakers before, you opened up Spotify to play your songs on shuffle. Eren drummed his fingers on the armrest as you pulled out of your driveway.

"What did you do yesterday while I was gone? You had to be doing something," you said, keeping your eyes trained on the road as you did so. You lowered the volume a bit so it'd be easier to hear him above the music.

"I researched a bit more and played the game," Eren answered. You nodded and the car went silent as nobody else had anything else to say.

In all honesty, Eren had explored. Not in the game, but he had explored your house. The second floor, to be exact. Right as he saw you leave in the red convertible he had kept an eye on from the couch, he bolted up from his seat and walked to the second floor.

He immediately opened the door to the room you entered every night. A large room with a queen-size bed planted in the middle. Stickers that somehow glowed decorated the ceiling and a white-painted door was in the corner. That door led to your bathroom.

He was trying to uncover any secrets you might have, so when he saw a pile of dirty clothes—the bra and underwear catching his eye first—he sighed. Of course, nothing would be in the bathroom—why was he bothering checking this room? Eren shut the door behind him and looked through your dresser which was only filled with an absurd amount of clothing.

Apparently, that wasn't all of the clothing you owned, either. In your closet were clothes hung on hangars and even a pile in the corner of it. Eren sighed, realizing that nothing important would be in your room. He shut the closet doors and then your bedroom door. His eyes spotted the door at the end of the hallway. 

A mysterious aroma surrounded the door, which intrigued Eren.

He entered the room and saw the same type of bed planted in the middle. However, this room didn't have bright white walls or glow-in-the-dark stickers slapped on its ceiling—it had deep crimson curtains to block the sunlight in the morning, a black carpet, and a comforter to confide in during cold nights. This room seemed far more interesting than the last. He quickly made his way to the nightstand to search through whoever's belongings these were. 

In the end, Eren found nothing.

He collapsed on the couch, feeling frustrated. He had searched all rooms on the second floor, but nothing—nothing at all helped. It seemed that this was a normal family and you were a normal girl. Although you weren't hiding anything, Eren knew he couldn't trust you just yet. He would probably never even trust you completely.

You tapped your fingers on the leather wheel while you drove to the grocery store. It wasn't a long drive at all, but somehow with Eren being in the car it became five times longer. You were too fixated on the need to arrive at the store faster to escape the drowning sensation. Even with music playing in the background, you couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable with the silence.

So when your telephone rang, you couldn't help but quickly answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, F/n. It's Reiner."

Your cheeks became a light shade of rose as you glanced at Eren to see if he was staring. As if seeing him staring outside the window meant you could speak, you answered.

"Hey, What's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with us next time we get together."

"Is Marco going?"

"Of course."

You thought about the offer for a moment. You did enjoy hanging out with them, so what was holding you back?

"I'll think about it, just text me once you make the plans and I'll answer you then," you said.

"Alright."

Reiner ended the call and you felt a wave of relief flow through you. Eren glanced at you with suspicious eyes as the song unpaused and continued playing through the speakers.

"You're blushing again. Was it Marco?"

You smiled and shook your head. "No, it was not. Besides, Marco isn't into women."

Eren furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"He's gay."

"Gay."

"Yeah, gay."

Eren stared at you. "So that means he's attracted to males? I don't think we had a term for that. Or at least I never learned it." You nodded.

Wait, Eren thought. This changed everything. This confirmed that the Marco from his world was not the same as the Marco here. Eren was sure that Marco never stayed too long in the showers than usual after training nor did he ever stare at the guys changing.

Yeah, no way.

Marco, the one from his world, wasn't gay.

"Well, now you know."

For some reason, Eren had the urge to ask another question that was completely unnecessary. He longed to know who was able to make you blush over the phone like that. Maybe it's the guy he's seeing. Eren nodded. It must be. You were an attractive woman, he thought. Well, he concluded after seeing you in such an outfit last night. Maybe it was because he had never seen a woman wear something so seductive, or maybe it was because you were the one wearing it. Either way, a woman like you had to have something like a boyfriend.

You pulled into the parking lot and quickly entered the nearest slot. Both of you exited the car and made your way to the entrance of the store.

As you grabbed the cart to begin walking down the aisles, you couldn't help but notice the number of glances Eren was getting. You glanced at him yourself, checking him out to see if he had something on him or not.

No, he didn't. He was simply walking alongside you. His shirt, a bit smaller than what he should be wearing, was tight on him like always. Eren's grey sweatpants were as basic as they could get too.

Then you realized.

He was just hot.

You chuckled to yourself. That's why people were glancing. The man next to you was just really attractive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so excited to see the episode tomorrow. also i removed s4 spoilers because eren's plan is revealed in the anime, which i mention a couple of times throughout the book. thanks for reading <3


	8. Two Volunteers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Eren visit the aquarium.

"Mikasa, give me a second, somebody is calling me."

Mikasa sighed and paused the movie, allowing her boyfriend to answer the phone call. Eren snatched his phone off the counter, a bit annoyed that somebody had interrupted his prized movie night.

"Eren!"

"Hanji? Did something happen?"

Eren heard the older woman sigh into the phone. "I was contemplating on whether to call you or not, but I decided to. I really hope I'm wrong about this, but I'm usually never wrong." Hanji sounded more worried than usual. Eren furrowed his eyebrows, eager to know what she was about to tell him, but let her continue.

"Are you cheating on Mikasa?"

Eren's jaw dropped, something that rarely happened. "What the hell are you—excuse me? What the fuck are you saying? Of course, I'm not!"

Mikasa raised her eyebrows at her boyfriend who threw his hands up in the air. Eren did usually get angry when he was younger but now that he was older it was more uncommon. She wondered just what Hanji had asked him. Mikasa chose not to ask as it would most likely prevent their movie night from continuing for an even longer time.

"Oh, thank the lord. Then who were you at the grocery store with?"

"What?"

"I saw you at the grocery store with a young woman. You guys had that new couple aroma floating around you so I assumed you might've been cheating. My bad," Hanji apologized. Eren heard her chuckle nervously through the phone.

Eren furrowed his eyebrows, completely confused. He hadn't gone to the grocery store since last week. In fact, he actually needed to go soon. Mikasa had been bothering him to take a trip since a couple of days ago.

"Hanji, I didn't even go to the grocery store this week. You must've confused me with someone else."

"Really? I swore it was you. Although, he did seem a bit more... mature."

Eren rolled his eyes, guessing that the CBD enthusiast must have been high. "Whatever, just don't piss of Levi too much. I don't want his midget ass to get mad at me next practice."

"Yes, sir!" She sang into the phone. "Night, Eren!"

Eren hung up and shoved the phone in his pocket. He sighed and joined Mikasa on the couch, now cuddling with her. She smiled softly at him, a faint blush on her cheeks before playing the movie.

Whoever Hanji must've mistaken me with must be hot as fuck, though, Eren thought. He kissed his girlfriend's forehead and laid back to enjoy the movie with a smirk on his face.

—

Eren typed away on the computer, his eyes becoming watery as he yawned. He leaned back on the couch and pulled the laptop closer to him.

You were upstairs taking a shower, making sure to suppress your hobby of singing just in case he could hear from the first floor.

He sighed and continued skimming the page about alternate universes, but the more he read, the more he felt like ripping the laptop in half. It's been almost a week since he last popped up in this world and he's made absolutely no progress. He hasn't learned anything that would help him get back to his own world.

A colorful image on the taskbar at the bottom of the screen caught Eren's attention. He glanced at the rainbow flower icon, at least that's what it looked like to him, and double-clicked on it. Although he didn't know what this application was, he continued to allow it to load on the screen in front of him.

Suddenly, a mass of photos appeared in front of him. Eren raised his eyebrows. These were just like the ones his father had left behind in one of the books the day he entered the basement, except they were colored and digital.

The most recent photo was of your dog sleeping on what he recognized was a fluffy blanket. He took a peek at Bubbles who was lying next to him and continued to scroll through the app.

Then he found a photo of you at what looked like a beach. However, you were just in your undergarments. Eren paused and stared at the photo before glancing up at the stairs to make sure you weren't coming. Either your phone was propped up against something or somebody took that photo. Eren really didn't care, but if somebody did take this photo, they were very lucky. You were smiling, similar to how you looked when you laughed.

The underwear you wore was a light pink, sitting high on your waist. The matching top did a good job of accentuating your breasts and he shifted slightly in his seat.

Did he feel guilty? To be honest, he's done stuff way worse than this, so no, he didn't. Looking at a photo of you in your undergarments wasn't a big deal, eating the War Hammer Titan was. Staring at your seductive legs as you exited through the front door wasn't a big deal, planning to start the Rumbling was.

Although he was nineteen years old, this was the most he had ever seen of a woman. Mikasa wore supportive bras frequently while she was training but always stayed in a pair of thigh-length shorts. Plus, he didn't really view her with wandering eyes at all. In actuality, he viewed nobody romantically. Seeing you in underwear was completely different.

He swiped to the next photo and choked on the air. This one was the back view. He shook his head and shut the laptop closed.

You're not like this, Eren thought to himself. Becoming heated because of some photos of a woman you barely know? He sighed disappointedly before opening up the laptop to exit out of the application.

"Hey, Eren." He quickly deleted the app off the screen before turning around to meet your eyes.

Your hair was a bit wet, some water droplets falling onto the floor. You ran your hand through your hair as you spoke.

"I have class tomorrow, but if you want we can do something the day after. Have any ideas? We can go to the zoo, the beach, the aquarium..."

The beach.

Eren shook his head.

"What's an aquarium?"

"It's a place where they keep fishes inside big tanks of water."

"How about there?"

You nodded. "Alright, let me check if it's open."

After a moment of silence, you were happy to see that it was open. "Great, it's open. Let's head there after breakfast the day after tomorrow?"

Eren nodded and you hopped back upstairs to finish your nightly routine. After making sure you had left the first floor entirely, he slowly opened the laptop and stared at the screen.

He sighed and closed the application, deciding to not continue researching but to turn on the PlayStation and continue his own story in the video game.

\--

"So you and Reiner hit it off pretty well, huh?"

Marco appeared in front of you with a sly grin on his face. You rolled your eyes and shook your head immediately, walking past him.

"Yes, we got along well, but I'm not interested in him," you clarified while the two of you walked down the campus hallway.

"Sure, sure. You almost kissing him totally doesn't mean you're interested—got it." You glared at Marco as he sent you a shrug. "Anyway, you don't have class tomorrow, right?" You shook your head. "Perfect, all of us are hanging out again if you want to join."

You remembered the plans you had made with Eren yesterday and cringed. Although you had a great time hanging out with his group of friends this weekend, you really wanted to bring Eren to the aquarium. Based on what you knew about his society, you were sure that seeing fish underwater wasn't common.

"Actually, I can't."

Marco furrowed his eyebrows. "What? You never have anything planned."

You deadpanned and he sent a sorry smile. "Like, you know what I mean. I swear I didn't mean it like that!"

"Yeah, I get you. I just can't tomorrow. I need to..." You racked your brain for possible excuses. "Bubbles needs his heart-worms shots.

Marco didn't believe that you had a stranger—actually, you guessed you could call him an acquaintance now—staying in your house, so why bother telling him the real reason? He wouldn't believe you, anyway.

"Oh, alright. We'll probably hang out again this weekend so you can come then. Reiner has been begging to see you, but don't tell him I said that."

"By the way, Reiner called me yesterday. Did you give him my number?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. I should've asked you first," he apologized.

"It's alright, I was just wondering."

The two of you reached the campus doors and you turned to him. "Do you need a ride home? I don't see your lanyard with you."

The bright, yellow, minion-decorated lanyard was missing from his neck. Attached to it was his car keys, but they both seemed missing today. 

"It's alright, Jean is picking me up."

You raised your eyebrows as the two of you exited the building.

"I might have forgotten to mention, but he goes to this campus."

"Do Annie and Reiner go here too?"

You tried to think of any time you saw the two in the hallway, but you ended up with nothing.

"Annie, Bertholdt, Ymir, Historia, and Reiner go to a different school. But the rest of them do."

You scrunched your eyebrows. "Who are the rest of them?" 

"Mikasa, Eren, Armin, Connie, and Sasha." 

Eren. You chuckled because of the coincidence. "Will they be at the gathering this weekend?"

Marco paused and thought for a moment. "Most likely. Mikasa and Eren might not be, though." 

You nodded.

The red convertible you saw a couple of nights ago pulled up in front of Marco and you. 

"Jean!" Marco smiled and waved at him. Jean smirked at him before acknowledging your presence. 

"What's up, F/n?

"Nothing much."

"You coming tomorrow?"

"No, I have plans. Sorry." 

Jean shrugged and got out of the car to assist Marco with his bag. Marco gave you a tight squeeze and slid into the expensive car. 

"Bye!" Marco waved to you and the car zoomed away. You cringed at the smell of the exhaust gas and quickly waved the air in front of your nose. 

You felt a warm feeling pool at the bottom of your stomach. For some reason, Jean asking whether you would attend or not made you feel just a bit more welcome in their friend group. 

—

"Two tickets, please." 

The woman behind the counter nodded and accepted your credit card. After a moment she handed you two identical-looking adult tickets. 

You handed Eren his own and he stared at it for a moment before you began walking to the entrance of the aquarium. 

"You have to pay to see fish?" 

"Well, there are all different kinds of fish. There are sharks, eels, and other sea creatures here too." 

"Eels. I think I've heard about them in Marley before." 

The building was purposefully dim and a large tank of water appeared after you entered the cold room. Plenty of people were walking around, heading off to different sections of the building and using the signs to guide them. Eren and you approached the main tank and he stared at it rather blandly. 

You pursed your lips together. They were just fish, but you expected him to be a tad more amazed. 

A dark blue hue covered his face. As he was focused on observing the aquatic animals, you focused on his side-profile. He really was attractive. 

His personality? You stared at the slant of his nose while thinking about the question. 

He was a decent person, you thought. But never once have you seen him act romantically toward you. 

Well, of course he wouldn't, you thought. There was a possibility of him having a romantic interest back at home, too. 

You let out a deep sigh and stared at the fish tank along with him. 

Suddenly, a stingray flew past the two of you. He took a quick step back before clicking his tongue. 

"Aw, did you get scared?" You smiled cheekily at him while he stared at you emotionless. 

You chuckled and poked at his ribcage. He snatched your hand immediately and held it tight. You stared at him, surprised before he quickly let go.

"Sorry," you quickly apologized.

"It's alright. I shouldn't have reacted that way. You're basically harmless." You frowned, not sure whether to take that as a compliment or insult. "That's a pretty good thing." 

He patted your head and you froze. 

Eren stared at his hand and slowly retracted it. 

Why the fuck did I just do that, he thought. 

Your face became a burning shade of crimson and you coughed. Quickly facing the direction of the tank so he hopefully would not notice your massive blush, you rubbed the spot he patted unknowingly.

Eren decided to turn his attention to the fish tank as well, but the movement of your hand rubbing the top of your head caught his eye. For a reason he couldn't name, a small smile reached his face.

—

You sat down with the cheap food across from Eren. The two of you were sitting on a table accompanied by the umbrella to shield you from the strong afternoon sun. Eren had ordered a cheeseburger, while you asked for the chicken tenders. It was quite a childish meal, but it didn't matter as long as you enjoyed it. 

It was a loud food court, but the sound eventually drowned out when Eren began talking. With a bite of his cheeseburger in his mouth, he said something. "The cheeseburgers you get from the grocery store are better." 

"Oh, do you not want to eat it? You can have my food." 

Eren furrowed his eyebrows. He swallowed the food before speaking. "I'm not a child, I can finish my food. Besides, I already took a bite of the burger."

"So?"

Eren stared at you before deciding to give up. "Nevermind. Anyway, why are there so many kids here?" 

"Usually families with young kids visit the aquariums to entertain their children." 

He nodded. "So, you're treating me like a child?"

"Well—" 

"I'm joking. I know you don't see me as a child." A sigh of relief escaped your mouth. 

Wait. He was joking. It wasn't even funny, but that was his first sarcastic remark. You smiled at yourself before taking a bite of your food.

Deciding to continue the banter, you said, "How do you know I don't think of you as a child?"

"You don't want me to answer that." 

You choked on the batter, your cheeks becoming red for the third time today. For some reason, you believed it wasn't going to be the last. 

"What does that even mean?"

Eren shrugged and continued eating his cheeseburger. You cleared your throat and continued to eat, this time with a suspicious stare aimed directly at him. 

The two of you finished eating the foodcourt meals and discarded the trash into the bins scattered on the edges of the patio. Walking past the mass of people eating, you returned to the main building. Spotting the electronic map in the middle, you guided Eren there. 

"We can visit the dolphins that are outside." 

"I'm okay with anything." 

You nodded and decided to do just that. After memorizing how many lefts and right you'd have to take to reach the outdoor tanks, you motioned for Eren to follow you. 

Eren opened the double doors and the warm air you felt less than three minutes ago welcomed you once again. The sound of dolphins that you had a deep feeling hated being stuck in such a small environment was clear as day. To be honest, you weren't a big fan of aquariums, but deciding to go one day with Eren wouldn't hurt. Hopefully.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen to the two o'clock dolphin show!" A blonde woman dressed in a wetsuit waved to the crowd and a scream of toddlers was heard. Eren glared at the baby crying not too far away from him and took a deep breath.

"Before we get started, we will need two volunteers. You have to be over the age of eighteen and under fifty and will be required to sign a waiver. Two of you lucky picks in the audience will be swimming alongside the dolphins!" 

You sighed. 

Hell no. 

You leaned back into the rock-hard seat. 

"What did she say?" Eren whispered. 

"She's asking for two people that'll be able to swim with dolphins." 

Eren nodded. The two of you sat down, analyzing the crowd. It was mostly women in their 20's raising their hands with a smile on their faces.

"Can we get any men willing to volunteer?" The woman asked. After a moment of nobody else raising their hands, you and her made eye contact. She pointed at both of you with a weird glint in her eye. 

"How about this beautiful couple all the way in the back? Fun fact, the dolphins that you will be swimming with are soulmates!" 

The audience gasped and you shook your head. No way did you want to go through all of that to swim with dolphins. Besides, nobody here needed to see you in a wetsuit either. 

However, Eren stood up and waited for you to join him. You shook your head sternly while he grinned at you. 

"No, Eren." 

He nodded eagerly while you shook your head repeatedly.

"Do you even know how to swim?" 

After the translation went through, he shook his head. 

"Not really, but the dolphin will help me, right?" 

"It looks like the guy is willing to. But is the girl willing to as well? We can always ask for somebody else!" Women began shooting up their hands for the second time and you sighed. 

You stood up abruptly and the crowd cheered. A scratchy sensation shot up your neck as you saw over a hundred eyes staring at you and Eren. 

"Just make your way to me and I'll tell you what to do. Now, we can start the dolphin show!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry about the delayed update. i just seriously didn't want to write them being at the aquarium and had no motivation for it. most of the times ill warn my audience on wattpad if I'm not going to update (if you care). here it is: @erensgirl
> 
> also I'm doing my best to keep eren in character but i'm not sure if him having romantic feelings in the first place is in character--sorry about that! hopefully the next chapter will be out on time, but video games are really taking up a lot of my time too.


	9. Behind the Curtain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You swim with dolphins and something unfortunate happens while checking to see if your shower worked. Was it really unfortunate, though?

Staring at the worn-out wetsuit that the employees had offered you after you signed the waiver, you placed your phone and purse in the locker in front of you. Bending over to pick up the wetsuit from the metal bench, you stared at the material that appeared to be hard to put on. You took a deep breath and glanced at the shut lockerroom door before unclothing yourself.

After a good ten minutes of attempting to put on the piece of clothing, you exited the locker room with moist feet from the leftover shower water that sent a shiver down your spine. Sun greeted your face as you let the heavy door shut closed and your skin, under the cold, damp wetsuit felt a bit of relief.

You saw Eren sitting on a similar bench from the locker room bench outside, his wetsuit not even zipped up yet. You furrowed your eyebrows and sat next to him, bringing your phone out as you did so.

"Why is your wetsuit halfway down?"

You leaned back to spare a glance at his back to see his bareback. It was perfect in almost every way. He had good posture along with no flaws*,-- scars, stretch marks, and anything in between were nowhere to be found.

Maybe the absence of those qualities was because of his ability to regenerate? You nodded, that must be it.

"I couldn't figure how to reach the zipper." He turned around and pointed at the zipper at the very bottom of his back.

"There's a strap that helps you zip yourself up. Here, I'll just do it. Stand up real quick."

Eren stood up in front of you but didn't face the other way. Now you were staring at his v-line, something that you didn't notice before because he was sitting down.

You cleared your throat after noticing the valley of hair leading down to the bottom portion of his wetsuit.

"Turn around."

Eren obeyed and you grabbed the black strap that was connected to the zipper. You dragged it from the bottom of his back to above his head and double-checked to make sure it was completely zipped.

"Ah, thanks."

The same blonde woman who had picked the two of you from the crowd peeked her head from around a large door that led to the stage.

"You two ready?"

"Yup."

"The man at the desk has your waivers, right?"

"Yes."

\--

You read the waiver and reached the part where it confirmed whether you could swim or not. You glanced at Eren beside you, blankly staring at the identical piece of paper.

"Eren, it's asking whether you're able to swim or not."

"It can't be that hard."

"It's not, once you get the hang of it."

"I'll be fine. You worried?"

"Of course! I don't want you to drown in front of hundreds of people!" you whispered harshly, trying to not gain the attention of anybody around you.

"I'll just hang on to the dolphin."

"I'm not sure about this, Eren."

He sighed and leaned back in the office chair. You chewed on your nail as you unknowingly stared at his face.

"I'll be fine, you just have to trust me."

\--

"Ladies and gentleman, do you remember the couple we called out at the beginning of the show?" The blonde woman, Carol, said.

The audience nodded and she smiled. You and Eren stood behind the door she had opened earlier.

"Well, they're ready to swim with the dolphins!"

It was both of your ques to enter and join her on the stage. You walked onto the stage first, shyly waving at the large crowd in front of you. Trying to hold down the fact that so many people were seeing you in a wetsuit, you smiled at Carol.

Eren followed shortly after. For some reason, the crowd cheered louder when he stepped on stage. He ran a hand through his hair that was free from his bun. You frowned when you heard a lot more females scream when he did just that.

Eren stood next to you. You both had agreed for you to jab him in the ribcage, meaning he should follow whatever you were doing since he couldn't understand what the lady on the stage was saying. Leaving your phone with your purse in the locker room was risky, but taking your phone to translate everything just plain dumb.

"Now, before we begin, do you guys have anything to say to the crowd? How about you introduce yourselves?"

She positioned a mic she had been holding in her other hand that you didn't notice until just now in front of your mouth.

The crowd stared at you for what felt like an eternity as you observed the cheap mic in front of you. After a moment's hesitation, you spoke.

"My name is F/n. I'm really excited to swim with these dolphins!"

You tried to make it sound like you were truly excited, but your over-enthusiastic tone made it hard to believe. The crowd stared at you dully and you internally cringed but kept a small smile on your face.

"You don't have to be scared! The dolphins we have here are super friendly! Now, how about the young man next to you?"

She switched to Eren's left side to position the mic in front of his mouth.

His head slowly turned to stare at you. You tried to motion for him to speak, but it seemed he didn't get the message. You leaned over to speak into the mic, deciding to take over the situation.

"He's my german exchange student for a program I have at my school, so he's a bit shy."

Carol nodded with an understanding smile on her face.

"That's so cool that your school hosts such a unique type of program!" You nodded with a forced smile in response. "Now, are you two ready to swim with the dolphins?"

You gave her and the crowd a thumbs-up and shortly after, Eren did as well.

He always was a fast learner, you thought.

Carol guided you to a set of stairs that descended into the cool, clear water. The pair of dolphins were being fed by a man on the side. Suddenly, the awful smell of the bucket of fish almost made you gag, but you quickly cleared your throat to cover it up. He smiled at the two of you and cleaned his hands on his own wetsuit before dragging the bucket away.

"Slowly get into the water and place your hands on the dorsal fin of the dolphin. Once you're ready, I'll give the dolphins the signal and they'll take off," Carol explained. She bent down next to you as you stepped into the water. Eren followed right behind you.

Both of you were now standing on the deepest step and you were still able to breathe without a problem. Eren's shoulders were still dry as the water hadn't reached the top portion of his body because of how tall he was. You noticed that the dolphins seemed a bit restless as they began splashing around in the water. The man that had fed them previously returned to calm them down by petting them.

"Eren," you whispered, ready to tell him what to do.

He stared at you with a questioning look. You held up both of your hands flat out and placed them around the dolphin's dorsal fin. Eren copied you exactly and you craned your neck backward to see if she was going to give the signal soon.

"Ready?" she privately asked you two. You quickly glanced at Eren to make sure his hands were still on the dolphin. He was staring at the mammal with a suspicious look and didn't notice you peek at him at all. Turning back around to face Carol, you nodded.

After the blow of a whistle, the dolphin you held onto took off quite faster than you expected. 

The water splashed against your face in a rough manner as the dolphin flew you across the pool. Trying to glance at Eren, you noticed that his dolphin wasn't next to yours. You turned around and saw him at the steps with his dolphin. It was splashing around and squealing like it was before. Carol dipped into the water to assist Eren and had him remove his hands off of its fins. You wanted to stop, but the dolphin was still taking you across the pool. Swimming across the water would be a bit awkward to do in front of the audience, so you decided to wait until it would bring you back around.

After the dolphin took you back to the steps, you let go of it to join Eren and Carol.

"What's wrong?" you asked. Eren was leaning against the wall of the pool with an unreadable expression.

"She seems a bit stressed out and anxious. Maybe she doesn't want to swim with somebody after such a large meal." You furrowed your eyebrows at the response.

"So the dolphin has a stomachache?"

Carol laughed awkwardly and continued petting the mammal. "Honestly, I'm not sure. Seastar, her name, has never acted like this before."

—

The drive back was a quiet one. Eren hadn't spoken a word since the situation with the dolphin. You wondered if he was angry about not being able to swim with the animal, but that seemed a bit too childish of him to think. Maybe he was upset about something else.

You pulled into your driveway and unbuckled yourself after parking the car. Eren followed you into your house after shutting the car door and immediately made his way to the bathroom.

Not even a minute later you heard the shower turn on. You chewed on your lip, wondering if food would make him feel better. That always seemed to do the trick when you hung out with Marco after failing a test.

Eren ran his hands through his wet hair. He stared at himself in the reflection of the foggy glass and leaned against the marble wall. Today wasn't too bad, he admitted. He saw species of fish he didn't know existed, ate his favorite food (although its quality wasn't the best), and was able to spend the entire day with you. The dolphin situation didn't bother him too much, but seeing you in the wetsuit made up for it plentiful.

Armin would love the aquarium.

You poured the pasta into the boiling pot of water and threw away the packaging. Right as you shut the trash can, you heard the shower shut off. Eren must be done, you concluded.

Only five minutes later did you realize he still hadn't exited the bathroom. You brushed it off, deciding that he must be taking care of something personal.

That's what you assumed until you heard the door open. Ah, you began, so he just took his time getting dressed.

Except Eren stood tall in nothing but a bath towel wrapped around his waist. It sat almost too loosely around his waist as if with another step it would fall to the floor. Your eyes trailed from his lower body to his face.

"Did you not have clothes?" you asked as calmly as you could. Eren being shirtless in your house wasn't a big deal. However, him being almost completely naked was. Did he not have any sense of boundaries? You weren't complaining, though. His wet hair was slicked back and he had a tired expression on his face. It was almost as if he was posing for you, with his hips leaned to the side and arm resting on the back of his neck. 

Like earlier today you were given a clear view of his v-line. You obviously weren't going to stare though, that was weird. 

"I didn't take any with me into the bathroom."

He kneeled on the marble floor to grab a stack of clothes he kept under the couch. Eren split the stack in half and walked back to the bathroom.

Eren opened the door in what some people would describe as a hurry. He let his clothes drop to the floor along with his towel. He turned to face the cloudy mirror to the right of him and stared at his unrecognizable face.

Why am I red?

—

"So you've been sleeping on the couch a lot," you began. You were sitting next to Eren on the sofa while he continued his story in Uncharted 4. "I was thinking you could move up to the second floor to sleep in an actual bed."

Eren paused the game and stared at the television in front of him. The couch was comfortable enough, an upgrade of any kind wasn't needed. Besides, he thought, this was just another move of yours that made him feel more permanent in this world. Obviously, his own private room would come with the bed. It would be like he actually lived here with you. Which he already kind of was. 

"It's alright. The couch is good enough."

"But the beds upstairs are even better. Come on, let me show you them."

You placed your hand on his. This time he stared at your hand as you dragged him off the couch.

As you tugged Eren upstairs, you felt a small blush reach your cheeks knowing that he didn't snatch his hand away from yours.

Eren stared at both of your hands as you guided him upstairs. It reminded him of when Carla would hold him tight and never let go until he fell asleep. He sighed at the memory and continued to mindlessly let you lead him to the room.

"So this is the guest room," you said. You opened the door to a dark room and felt the layer of dust that had accumulated since the last time you opened the door shift. Swatting the air in front of you with a cough, you hurried over to the night-lamp to produce light.

Once the lamp turned on, a room with a queen-sized bed was revealed in the middle. Two nightstands sat on the side of the luxury bed, one of the lamps sitting on them being the one you had just turned on. The room was painted a creamy white along with matching bed sheets and dark blue pillow covers. It was nothing like the dark room he saw one time while investigating your house.

"Behind us is your own private bathroom." Eren turned around and saw you open a door directly in front of him. "Although, I'm not sure if the shower works."

He entered the bathroom and realized it was similar to the one on the first floor, except this one had a tub in the back corner. You pushed the curtain to the side and took a step into the shower, leaning over to turn on the handle.

Once you turned it on, you frowned realizing it didn't work. 

Really? 

How does a shower not work just because it hasn't been used in a year or so?

You sighed and stepped into the shower completely, tugging on the handle just a bit harder.

And yeah, it did work this time.

It worked very well, actually.

The showerhead sprayed what felt like gallons of water on you. You let out a shriek and stumbled back, falling onto the wet marble floor. You groaned and rubbed your irritated eyes before you felt the stream of cold water stop hitting your body. After you opened your eyes you saw a hand reaching out for you.

You took the hand and realized that Eren was soaking wet, just like you. He pulled you up to his chest and you felt your soaking shirt stick to his own. 

The both of you stayed silent for a moment, just two drenched humans staring at each other while holding hands behind a shower curtain. Even if you were now freezing and your hair was beginning to bother you, it didn't matter because it was barely noticeable.

The only thing that was noticeable was Eren. 

—

Eren slid under the cold covers and stared at the blank ceiling. This room didn't have the glow-in-the-dark stickers that yours had. 

So what was up with the situation earlier? After he had helped you up, you had stared at him for quite a long time. He couldn't deny that he himself had stared at you, too. The moment was definitely intimate for a reason he didn't know. Was it because he thought you were attractive? He clicked his tongue. That wasn't the reason. So what was it?

"Eren?"

He hears your faint voice from outside his door and he sat up. 

"Can I come in?"

"Yes," he said in a very obvious German accent.

You stepped into the room with a matching set of pajama shorts and a shirt.

"The room is fine, right? Do you need anything, maybe a glass of water?"

You walked over to Eren and handed him your phone. When his arm stretched out from under the blanket, you noticed he was shirtless once again. His hair was splayed out on the pillowcase below him and for some reason, you had an urge to slither into bed next to him so he could spoon you. A warm sensation pooled at the bottom of your stomach from the thought and you unknowingly smiled.

"No, I'm fine." 

She came into my room to offer me a glass of water? That's unusual. Was it because I'm not next to the kitchen like how I was while sleeping on the couch? 

"Oh, alright then," you whispered. You reclaimed your phone and slowly stepped out of the room.

"Was there anything else you needed?"

With your hand on the door handle, you paused.

"Uh, nope. Goodnight, Eren." 

"Goodnight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Scars, stretch marks, and anything in between are not flaws. It was just for the story. You're beautiful with or without them <3
> 
> Hmm yeah, so Eren didn't get to swim with the dolphin. Sad. It's almost like the dolphin was scared of him. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Things are moving slowly but I hope you notice the progress in your friendship with Eren. Thank you for reading :)


End file.
